Alien: End Game
by Jord
Summary: To stand on the shoulders of giants does not require self-control. Respect for newfound powers is not essential. But when these powers are wielded to create a terrible species, only survival becomes an imperative.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

**NASA EXPLORATION BASE **

**TOKYO **

**JAPAN**

BRIEFING SUMMATION:

CONCERNING ALL PERSONELL, STAFF AND RESEARCHERS: 

Approval to proceed with expedition 1015B has been given. Please note that under section heading 2A, paragraph 12, information regarding any extraterrestrial findings; be they of biological, chemical or geographical nature, be kept confidential unless otherwise directed by the company. Failure to comply with any of the above will result in direct termination of the expedition and possible suspension of employee license. All safety procedures will remain constant and unaltered. Details can be found in the safety and instruction manual guide on page 2270. Failure to comply with the afore mentioned will result in direct termination of employee license. It has been noted that this is the first time that the company has allowed a civilian on board, and for such reasons it is imperative that all security and confidentiality measures be strictly followed. Please report back immediately or inform authorities if you fail to understand these instructions. Let it also be noted that all expedition members have successfully passed all psychological, physical and medical examinations. If, however, you feel that it is essential to undergo further treatment at this point, do not fail to inform the proper authorities. Please refer to the addendum for additional information on research and security protocol. Weyland Yutani and its subsidiary, NASA, thank you for your cooperation.

Listed below are crew and research members:

Jarreck H. Fox. ID: DJ678157

Barnaby G. David. ID: JO0078163

Regan Y. Mender. ID: AD436709

Tamayuya Yoshi. ID: RT716298

Lexington Mash. ID: XV019283

Omitsu K. Hiromi. ID: XD243587

Reuban R. Jakob. ID: ER708911

Reuban K. Helen. ID: NONE-CIVILIAN

**

* * *

**

**1700 HRS **

**NARITA****INTERNATIONAL****AIRPORT**

**TOKYO**

'Oh would you please stop huffing, Helen, and take the stupid sweater,'

'Mom _please_. Everyone's looking – I don't need this right now!'

'I don't care. Space is cold. The ship's going to be cold.'

'This is the 27th century! It's not like we don't have heating on board! Jeez,'

'Just take it, okay? For me?'

The girl looked into her mother's widened brown eyes, pursed her lip and eventually consented. Her mother smiled back knowingly and stroked the girl's dark hair with the palm of her hand. 'Honey, it's just that – you know...this isn't exactly what...well, what I'm trying to say is, this isn't a class field trip. You're actually going out there-'

'-into unchartered territory, yeah I know. But just think! It'll look great on my college application – kinda like an internship, and all this experience will let me know whether this field is right for me.'

'I just wish you could...maybe, try something a little closer to home – is all.'

Helen looked around, holding her duffel bag to her knees. All these faces – apart from her mother's – all unfamiliar, foreign and unknown. It made her spine tingle. She had never been outside her home town, let alone her own country, and that was all the push she required, all the incentive she needed to discover the world on her own. Her parents were entomologists, and before they settled down when she was born, they had traveled the globe searching for new species and life forms, which were abundant given that atmospheric conditions had changed during the past two decades. But discovering new terrestrial species was boring. Science had taken not one, but several giant leaps forward in what was known as the new fad in exploration. Some referred to it as "the gold of the galaxy", "spectacular species"...whatever the term; it was undoubtedly the hottest field in research exploration. For botanists, biologists, geologists and even chemists. Technology and advanced field methods enabled the discovery of new species – eighty eight percent of them were microscopic organisms – but even so, the exponential rate at which these species were being discovered was enough to make any scientist's heart skip several beats.

And that was why she was here.

'Home ain't where the gold is, mom.' said Helen.

'Stop saying that – you're beginning to sound like him.'

'What's wrong with that? You're the one who married him in the first place,'

Helen watched in sudden regret as her mother closed her eyes, attempting to ignore that last comment. Her parents were in the midst of a bitter divorce – a drawn-out, painful procedure that had lasted the entire month. Helen had been placed in the custody of her mother, but as for the settlement of household items – such a conclusion had not yet been reached. As a result of such ongoing tensions, living at home with her already strung-out mother had reached an unbearable level. Her mother decided that it was probably best if Helen take a vacation with some of her friends or family – to get away from home for a while – while she, her mother, would attempt to sort through things alone. And then her reclusive uncle – Jakob, her mother's brother - a respected entomologist himself, showed up and offered Helen the opportunity of a lifetime. The chance to actually accompany him on one of his expeditions to the southern quarter of the Andromeda galaxy.

Helen's mother hadn't taken to his offer well. She expected to send Helen off to London or New Zealand even – definitely not out into the reaches of space. But, to contend with the persistent will of a bright fourteen year old was something she was not up to. And besides, she was with her uncle, family. True, he might be slightly eccentric, but he always took care of his own. Unlike Helen's father.

'Sorry, mom... I didn't mean it.'

'I know, I know. Anyway, where on earth is your uncle?'

'Remember? He said he couldn't come, but he'd send someone to get me.'

'He could've easily just come and get you himself...' said Helen's mother.

'What can I say? He's a busy man.' And then as an afterthought, to appease her anxious mother, she added, 'But he'll definitely make sure I get there safely. He promised.'

Her mother continued to pan her head around, unconvinced. She sighed and changed the topic. 'Don't forget to cook any meat on board. I know that meat spoils easily at lower, humid temperatures.'

'The food's pre-cooked. Wait-' Helen looked to her left to see three men, two Japanese and one European walk up to the two of them.

All three were dressed in dark pinstriped suits, and carried thin, leather briefcases at their sides. Helen's mother noted that they would seem awfully automated, and could even pass off as company synthetics if not for the seemingly warm smiles they wore on greeting the two people.

'Ms. Reuban?' said one, offering out his hand.

Helen nodded and shook it loosely as the other gentleman continued. 'I hope you had a comfortable flight,'

'Comfortable enough,' started Helen's mother, 'an hour from L.A. to Tokyo would be great if only the seating in coach wasn't like being cramped up in a sardine tin.'

It was her mother's idea of a joke. The men didn't crack a smile. 'Well, Ms. Reuban, if you're ready – we should probably make our way to the car.'

'Sure, just give us a minute.' spoke Helen's mother. The man nodded, but stood still, next to mother and daughter with his other compatriots. '_Alone_.' she stressed. They took the hint with no expressive sign of offense and walked over to a coffee stand a few meters away.

'Guess this is it then.' said Helen, smiling wanly.

Her mother leaned closer and threw her arms around Helen in a tight embrace. 'Okay kiddo. Take good care of yourself, okay? You know I'm not going to be around to nag you...but that doesn't mean you get to be careless about your health. And don't-'

'Mom, a lot of people travel to outer worlds, you _know_ it's nothing new! I'll be fine.'

Her mother pulled back and smiled. 'You're still my little girl. You know that even if you were camping out in our back yard I'd say the same thing!'

'Not quite!' chuckled Helen.

Her mother laughed. 'Alright, alright...I get the message. Hey listen, when you get back, what say we actually take a trip around the globe – see the world's wonders? If you're still up to it, of course – after your galaxy exploits.'

Helen kissed her mother and walked away slowly while speaking. 'Count me in!' She waved, 'See you in two months!'

As she watched her daughter walk off, she felt a sudden painful twinge go through her mind, as if something was pulling her back – holding her to one spot. But Mrs. Reuban simply smiled and shrugged off such a ridiculous notion, dismissing it to the effects of jet lag.


	2. Chapter 1

**1730 HRS**

**NASA EXPLORATION BASE**

He dragged his feet up to the window, and stuck his face out – hoping for the slightest breeze to brush against his sweaty face, something to ease the unbearable heat that was enveloping the room. Mash Lexington had hoped that things would be cooler here in Tokyo compared to the dry heat back in Ecuador, but who was he kidding? Summers everywhere were hot. It was when the sun waged war, its own concept of retribution for the long dark days of winter. He took out his handkerchief and dabbed lightly at his brow.

'Mash, you in or out?' called out a voice from across the room. 

'They have millions to fund these explorations but not enough to spare for a bloody air conditioner.' griped Mash, ignoring the question.

The other individual shrugged and spoke to his counterpart across the small round table. 'He's folded.'

The man being spoken to gave a slight chuckle and stared at his cards. 'You know, Jarreck, if it weren't for his daring impulsiveness,' the man nodded in Mash's direction, 'I'd almost swear that he's petrified of losing.'

Jarreck, a rugged man in his late twenties, looked up from his cards at the Japanese man sitting across from him and sighed. 'Scientists, man. All the same.'

'That's a little pot-calling-the-kettle-black, don't you think? Remind me again – about what it is that you do?'

'_Used_ to do.' emphasized Jarreck.

'Right...How could I forget?' nodded his comrade, feigning complete understanding.

Fox Jarreck pursed his lips together and pretended to be engrossed by the cards he held in his hands. His temper rarely bubbled over, and it only required certain catalysts for it to do so. This was one of them.

The Romulus craft incident wasn't news to anyone. But that didn't stop it from being repeated several times over. The events didn't need to be recent in order for it to still be fresh in his mind. His mind wandered back, to three years ago when he had recently graduated from Langston University in Canberra, Australia – one the five prestigious universities in the world, with a PhD in molecular physics. After so many years of learning, he'd wanted to put the information he'd acquired to good use. Several companies pursued him, but there was only one place he knew that his future lied in. NASA. At the time, it was in the process of being bought over by a budding monopoly – Weyland Yutani – a company that engaged in funding research from archeology to revolutionary relativistic physical expeditions. But that made it all the more enticing and exciting for Jarreck. Now he needn't waste his time trying to convince other companies to provide grants – Weyland Yutani would undoubtedly fund every approved research project NASA conjured up.

For two years, his life was near perfect. He had signed on at NASA for a steady twenty five years, was on the honor payroll – something unusual for a new recruit, was engaged to a beautiful woman and was making progress towards a modified theory of interstellar travel. He was on a winning streak. 

But all good things come to an end, and his came sooner than later. 

The Romulus was a decidedly newer and faster model of a craft designed to stay out in space for longer periods of time. It had taken several years of effort, on the part of scientists like himself, to create such a marvelous piece of technology and obviously, millions of dollars in funding. NASA had decided to finally put this craft to the test by sending it out with a crew of seven to Matricular – another galaxy – a few light years away from earth. The only hitch was that NASA was not allowed to select its crew members, such decisions fell into the domain of Weyland Yutani. But a compromise was reached – NASA got to choose three people while Weyland Yutani selected the other four. Perhaps NASA should have questioned this call, but time was running short and everyone was so eager to get the ball rolling on the project that such glitches were carelessly overlooked.

Jarreck was selected to be third in command, an offer he immediately accepted without hesitation. The journey was estimated to take about a year, at the maximum, simply an expedition to test the capabilities of the Romulus. Things were running smoothly until – during the seventh week – events became separated into two alternate points of view, what later became known as the infamous Weyland Yutani Co. vs. F. H. Jarreck case. According to Weyland Yutani, Jarreck must have experienced some sort of mental chemical imbalance that led to the Romulus disaster. He miscalculated certain events and became suicidal, terminating all cryo-stasis tubes on board, thereby killing all of his crew members. Finally, in realization of what he had just done, Jarreck did not want to cause injury to himself anymore. So he must have decided to eliminate all evidence against him which led to him setting the Romulus to self-destruct mode. He had managed to escape with his life by jettisoning himself aboard a life-support escape pod. Clearly, Weyland Yutani had said, in their closing statement, Jarreck was mentally imbalanced and should be placed in a correctional institution with close supervision.

Jarreck's version of this story was a little different.

Two of the four crew members that Weyland Yutani had selected were discovered to be synthetics, artificial persons placed on board for reasons unknown. Unfortunately for the crew of the Romulus, this discovery was made purely by accident when both synthetics malfunctioned simultaneously and attempted to take the lives of all crew members on board. For all intents and purposes, they succeeded. Four of the human crew were killed – two of them in their sleep, and the other two were beaten to death. Until it became a simple yet horrifying game of cat and mouse between the three individuals left on board the massive craft. The only option left – it seemed to Jarreck – was to abandon ship, to leave in an escape pod and to set the Romulus to self-destruct mode. It broke his heart to do so – to destroy years of effort, but at the time, survival was all that counted. And he was determined to live to tell the tale. He managed to save the ship's log disk on file, to serve as evidence which would undoubtedly support his side of the story.

But he miscalculated such certainties. When he was picked up by a military convoy and brought back to earth, the disk he so carefully preserved proved to be blank and could not support his version of events in the least. So began a drawn a drawn-out trial in which Jarreck felt as if his life was falling apart slowly and painfully. His fiancée left him on immediate learning of his alleged suicidal tendencies and took most of the money they held in their joint account with her. His contract at NASA was suspended and was due for termination soon. He no longer held any prestigious position anywhere in the country – he might as well have been a homicidal maniac the way the company described him. 

But in the flurry of the storm, there appeared a beacon of friendly light. The co-chair of the biological division at NASA, Doctor Jakob Reuban, testified on behalf of Jarreck. He speculated that perhaps conditions on board the Romulus could have caused hallucinations in all of the crew members and there was no way to confirm anybody's version of events. Taking a further step to support the younger man, Dr. Reuban launched a full-scale investigation of the Romulus's internal structure. What he found almost saved Jarreck's career. The coolant system was discovered to leak out certain gases – previously gone undetected by systems on board. The gases caused a certain amount of synaptic interference and hence, possibly disturbing hallucinations. They could not have anticipated such consequences, because the compound was not included in the coolant fluid itself, but was a result of a combination of several different chemicals. At the time, Jarreck himself did not take to the evidence well. To his lawyer and Reuban, he emphatically stated that he had not conjured up such delusions of grandeur. He was not normally given to flights of fancy. The androids _did_ malfunction, and they _did _kill everyone else on board. Jarreck's lawyer and Reuban did not believe that this was of pressing concern at that moment. What was important was that they now had a solid piece of evidence that could potentially clear Jarreck's name. He reluctantly consented and the matter was brought up in court. The evidence did not prove Jarreck not-guilty, but it did grant him a mistrial. 

After the storm had blown over, Jarreck found that his reputation would remain tarnished, but at this point he was just thankful to still have a job and to be able to walk around a free man. Reuban had petitioned for Jarreck to continue to work at NASA as a flight officer, and his request was granted – given that Jarreck come under the supervision of Reuban himself on all extraterrestrial missions. If anything were to go wrong, Reuban would be held completely accountable for Jarreck's actions. 

Jarreck sighed and put down his cards. No matter how much logic claimed that the past could not be undone, it would never keep his mind from dwelling on it.

'What? You folding too?' asked the Japanese-American gentleman, Tamayuya, also known as Yuya for short.

'Let's just take a rain check on this, okay?' said Jarreck.

'The only American game I like – and none of you want to play.' said Yuya, frustrated.

'I'm not the American. You are.'

'Yeah, whatever. You know what really pisses me off? The way they keep us waiting. Waiting and waiting in rooms like this for days – with nothing to do. No women, no alcohol, no _nothing_.'

Jarreck looked in Mash's direction who was fumbling with a cord connected to an age-old rotator fan. He turned back to Yuya. 'You'll survive.' He changed the topic. 'I heard we're getting some pretty hot-shot researchers on this one. Top of their game.'

'That's unusual. What's the catch? Are we going into a new sector?'

'Nothing out of the ordinary. Southern quadrant...I heard Reuban say something about a rock containing microscopic organisms with something other than DNA.'

'A potential gold mine. No wonder they're interested.' commented Yuya.

'Y'know, I was wondering. Why'd you sign up for this op? Doesn't sound like your kind of field duty.' questioned Jarreck.

'I like being around inquiring minds.'

Jarreck laughed. 'Oh cut the BS, man. You're more into the military transport sector...why change all of sudden?'

Yuya's eyes stopped smiling and he leaned forward. 'You subscribe to urban legends? _Extraterrestrial_ urban legends?'

'I was part of one,' said Jarreck, recalling his encounter aboard the Romulus. 'Remember?'

'Yeah well...this one will knock your interstellar socks off.'

'Pitch it to me.'

'Well you know how there's all this hype with these new discoveries and all,' spoke Yuya as Jarreck nodded. 'I heard that there's sudden excited chatter in a new project that's been going on for a couple decades. And the head of this project is the renowned Doctor Hiromi Omitsu.'

'Our distinguished guest on board this mission?' asked Jarreck, his eyebrows raised.

'You got that right.'

'So what's the project?'

'I dunno – but it must be something pretty damned big for both Weyland Yutani and NASA to throw a black cloth over, don't you think?'

Jarreck leaned back and sighed. 'Come on! I thought you were going to knock my "interstellar" socks off! It's just another damned expedition just like every other one. Research scientists like this cloak and dagger stuff – that's how they get their kicks. Trust me, I was one of them. Just nothing out of the ordinary.' With that, he rose from his chair and walked off.

Yuya looked down at the abandoned cards on the table and spoke to himself. 'Yeah, but I think that right now, the definition of ordinary has changed. Or am I the only one who's aware of this?'


	3. Chapter 2

**1800 HRS**

The loading bay was abuzz with activity. Dr. Jakob Reuban stood watching the hubbub of people flitter about with his arms folded across his chest. He shifted from one foot to the other, trying to prevent either foot from falling asleep. He felt something vibrate in the pocket of his suede jacket and reluctantly pulled out his visual communicator. He turned the device on and a face flickered onto the screen.

'Celia...' he said as he recognized his sister's face.

'Jakob, did she get there okay?'

'Who?' he asked, absently.

A worried expression crossed his sister's face, and his memory suddenly came back to him. 'Helen! Oh wipe that look off your face, Celia – she's fine. She arrived here about ten minutes ago-' and then out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone and quickly turned to shout out at them. 'No, no! Those cables aren't going to work on that! We need _nylon_! Tell Harper to get nylon!'

'Jakob, you realize that I'm actually placing my child in your care? That this is a big responsibility?'

Jakob turned his attention back to the communicator. 'Celia, give the kid a break, okay? She's a big girl – she can handle herself.'

'I'm not talking about Helen, I'm talking about you! I'm holding you solely responsible for anything that happens to her!'

'Don't worry. I've been placed in that situation before...I think I can handle it.' said Jakob, as his mind wandered back to his responsibility over Jarreck. 'You have my word.'

Celia Reuban sighed, appeased for the moment. 'Helen told me that you can't really talk about this field expedition...why not?'

'To be honest, I don't really see why it shouldn't be disclosed to the public, but I guess every company has confidentiality measures.'

'Have they told _you_ everything?'

Dr. Reuban massaged his brow with his thumb and forefinger. 'I suspect not. But I could be wrong.'

Celia gave him an incredulous look. 'They haven't given you – the co-chair – all the information?'

'Celia, it's like I said – I could very likely be wrong.'

'I just...I don't know, I feel that if I knew exactly what was going to happen, then maybe I wouldn't feel so worried. I'll know what she's going to be getting into.'

'Helen will be fine. The expedition's not dangerous. Just a little different from what I'm previously used to. Try to take it easy, kiddo. Get some rest while you can – the divorce seems to have made you more strung-out than usual.'

'Alright. Okay. Tell her I said hello, will you? And tell her I love her.'

Jakob smiled. He never had the opportunity to settle down and have children – and at times it seemed like a good choice. Besides, why have children when you had siblings who had some of their own?

'Will do, Celia. Listen I gotta go. The loading supervisor's home with the 'flu on the busiest day imaginable. And I'm the unlucky bastard who gets to take his place. I'll get Helen to send you a message when we've taken off.' With that, he clicked off the phone and walked over to the opposite side of the loading bay.

* * *

Dr. Reuban sat bent over on the chair lacing his boots when he saw approaching feet out of the corner of his eyes. Its owner's shoes had aged mud spots, caking the bottom half while part of the shoe lace endings had been worn off, leaving a frazzled array of fine fibers. Only Lexington Mash, thought Reuban to himself.

The man, despite being a well-to-do geologist in his field was better known for his radical field technology methods. He was noted for his unkempt look and attire, but when questioned about this he responded with the answer that clothing was the least of his concerns. He preferred to spend his money on what it ought to be spent on – field equipment. Even if such things hadn't been well-tested or run beforehand. If you wanted to find the latest digging or blasting devices available, there you would also find Lexington Mash, holding a reused bottle of water with days of mining or rock dust covering his well-worn face, watching in rapt attention as part of a rock wall was blasted open to reveal its hidden glories. Recently in the Arizona desert, he had placed a group of geology students in peril when one of his blasting equipments blew a fuse and malfunctioned, nearly bring down the entire camping ground. Fortunately for the company, he had somehow managed to avoid being sued. Yet another invaluable trait the older gentleman possessed.

'Reuban, how much longer till departure? Honestly, I don't think I can stand waiting here in this unforgiving heat.' spoke Lexington in his heavy South African accent.

'I think we can leave in a few minutes. They've already boarded the others.'

'The company people?' asked Lexington, referring to the other scientists who worked more in conjunction with Weyland Yutani than with NASA.

'Yeah.'

'Your niece is on board?'

'No, she's coming with us. I haven't introduced her to everyone yet. I thought it's best that we do that after we take-off.'

Lexington sat down next to Reuban and let out a long breath. 'Tell me honestly, Jakob. Is it just my senility or do I feel as if I've been kept out the loop here?'

'What do you mean?' asked Reuban cautiously. He'd been down this road before, and the last thing he wanted to conjure up was mistrust between crew members.

'Oh come on...you know. They feed us with the regular horse shit of expedition protocol and then include a completely new set of instructions – this bloody _addendum_ – to which I can relate to nothing relevant. What the hell are they talking about – emergency security measures?'

'Just your standard precautions, I suppose.'

Lexington gave Reuban a sour look. 'What is this EVAC CODE 101? Did you hear about that one?'

'No...' said Reuban truthfully. He suddenly felt his hands grow colder. 'Could it have something to do with the others, maybe?'

Lexington smiled. 'I think it has _everything _to do with the others. I didn't hear about that one through, how shall I put it – proper channels. But its wording is enough to give me a serious case of the jitters.'

'Mash Lexington gets the jitters?' chuckled Reuban. 'Now there's a first!'

'I'm not pulling your leg man! I don't like the feeling I'm getting from this. It seems...more hush-hush than usual. But then again, I am getting old and cranky, and I don't like the feelings I get from anything anymore.'

'Let's just leave our ramblings to paranoid delusions, shall we?' suggested Reuban with a grin. 'Come on, let's get on board. After hypersleep, I'll pour you a nice scotch to calm your aging nerves.'

* * *

**1900 HRS**

The three of them – Reuban, Lexington and Helen sat in the jeep in silence as it rolled smoothly along the huge tarmac up to the docking bay. Surrounding the bay was a rocky outcrop of mountains, selected not for their beauty in particular but for the protection and elusiveness it provided for the company's operations. The sun was already beginning to sink beneath the smoky red horizon, casting simultaneously eerie but striking shadows on the uneven surface of the mountains.

Helen stuck her head out through the open window of the jeep and stared ahead of her. Her uncle had told her that the craft itself was partially situated underground – mostly due to the fact that it was large and required a huge amount of energy to provide it with enough velocity to leave the earth's atmosphere. The device that did so was built several meters underground and covered a large surface area. As the jeep drew nearer, Helen could make out a large yet smooth protrusion out of the ground. It made a striking contrast with the jagged edges of the mountains that surrounded them, and almost seemed menacing – a potential threat – guarded by the towering hills in the area.

'It's big...' was all she could say.

'Far too big for this expedition,' answered Lexington.

Helen turned to him quizzically and he continued to explain. 'We've never really gone on out on short two month trips often. If we do, it's usually for meteorological or air survey purposes and even then – we use a smaller vehicle. God knows what possessed them to stick us in the _Aurelius_.'

'The _Aurelius_?' asked Helen.

'That's her name.' said Lexington nodding towards the ship. 'Beautifully built though – streamlined features, latest observational equipment...' he licked his lips.

Reuban chuckled. 'Just your cup of tea, huh?'

Lexington laughed at himself along with Reuban. 'Well...nevertheless, it does seem a bit excessive, don't you think? That _thing_ for only eight people?'

Mash Lexington stared into Reuban's eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to convey his suspicions about this expedition to Reuban without alarming the girl. He did so by simply commenting on this matter in a trivial fashion – as if one would if it snowed too early in the year.

Helen turned away and looked out the window again. 'If we're transporting only eight people on board that thing, and six of you are scientists – then does that mean that only _two_ people pilot it?'

'The Aurelius can actually run on its own...we don't even need one pilot, if you're looking at it that way. But it's standard procedure, and looks like it will remain that way for a while to come.' Reuban paused to reach into his pocket and bring out a wad of chewing gum. 'You know, Helen, most of us are actually trained pilots ourselves. Because we sometimes have to work alone and the experience can come in handy when you do.'

'So there's no need to panic if one of us conks out,' quipped Lexington.

Helen's eyes widened momentarily. 'Why would anyone conk out?'

The jeep came to a stop and Reuban got up from his seat, slinging his knapsack onto his shoulder. 'Ah, he's just pulling your leg kiddo. Don't listen to him.' He shot a warning look at Lexington. 'The only thing _some_ of us are in danger of conking out on is an excessive amount of alcohol.'

He gently nudged the girl out of the jeep. They stepped out into the cooler evening air and stared ahead of them. There were a few people around the large ship, and some floodlights illuminated the entrance brightly making it look even more grandiose that it actually was.

'You nervous?' asked Reuban looking down at his niece.

'A little,' she admitted.

'Don't be. Think of this as a somewhat larger...cruise ship.'

With that, they walked up to the gateway, up the platform and into the craft.

* * *

**2100 HRS**

**ABOARD THE _AURELIUS _DISCOVERY CRAFT**

**THIRTY MINUTES PRIOR TO DEPARTURE**

'I'm feeling a little groggy...' said the girl as she stood in her pajamas next to a cryo-sleep tube.

'It's just the sedative, Helen. We find that it's really best to give rookies a dose of that little cocktail before hypersleep.'

Helen rubbed her eyes. 'Why?'

'To prevent you from puking up all over the place when you wake up.' He ruffled her short hair. 'We have entomologists, geologists and geneticists on board, but no cleaners, I'm afraid.'

'Uncle Jakob, is that your idea of a joke?'

'Pretty pathetic, huh.'

'_More_ than pathetic. We're gonna have to work on your punch lines.'

Helen Reuban looked around the immaculate whiteness of the ship and sat down cautiously on the edge of one of the cryo-sleep tubes. Its transparent lid was open, the other end hitched up to something, sort of like the hood of a car's engine when it was open. She felt the interior of the tube's bed padding with her hands. Soft and comfortable, but it possessed that unmistakable smell of pristine chemical spray. She wondered if the odor would affect her ability to fall asleep. She turned up her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. About four or five people, dressed similarly to herself, approached the sleep pods. Helen noticed that already, the crew had formed segregated groups – there didn't seem to be much intermingling. Two of the crew were Japanese. The only other female crew member on board (apart from herself) was a Japanese woman who was conversing with another man. She was gesturing with her hands, trying to describe something and Helen was trying to figure out what that something was when someone's form passed in front of her, distracting her attention.

'This cryo-tube taken?' asked the individual before her.

'No,' began Helen when she noticed that he was quite good-looking. Her pulse quickened, she felt another one of her pre-pubescent crushes bubble underneath the surface. If only she were a few years older!

'I know your uncle pretty well – well enough to know that he probably didn't introduce you to anyone on board yet, huh?' he said as he started fiddling with some controls on the side of his chamber.

'No. But they look pretty busy anyways. I wouldn't wanna disturb anyone.'

'Ah, don't let 'em fool ya. Scientists like to have this shroud of mystery envelop them. They won't be busy until they get to working in their labs. They're probably talking about the wasabi hot sauce they had for dinner.'

Helen laughed.

'I'm Jarreck, first flight officer on board.' he offered out his hand.

Helen shook it while speaking. 'You're not a research scientist?'

'Well...that's just something I'd rather not get into at this point in time. Maybe later,' he started to remove his shoes and socks. 'I like to keep my footwear handy. When you wake up – the floor's icy cold, nice warm socks helps to ease the transition.'

Dr. Reuban approached the two of them and smiled. 'Alrighty then folks, what say we all get neatly tucked into our beds for tonight?' He turned towards Jarreck. 'Did Yuya set the stasis settings already?'

'Yeah.' confirmed Jarreck. 'The coordinates pan out pretty clear too. I figure about two weeks – tops – until we're there. Suits are prepped for wear in case we're heading outside.'

'Thanks, Fox.' said Reuban as he turned to Helen. 'Hey kiddo, you ready for your first flight?'

'Yeah...'

He bent down and leaned forward towards the girl. 'Listen, sometimes it might take a while for the hypersleep to go into complete effect. It all depends on the individual's metabolism. Might be about one hour at the maximum. You might feel like you're being jolted around – that's just take-off movement – nothing to worry about. But don't try to fight the sleep, just try to ease into it.' He watched Helen's face carefully for any signs of alarm. There were none, so he continued. 'If you feel panicked or claustrophobic in any way, there's this red alarm button right above your head. You can push it – that interrupts stasis and let's you get out of the chamber.'

'Will it disrupt stasis in the other pods too?'

'Yeah, but don't worry about that. I'm just telling you all this for precautionary reasons. My first trip – I slept like a baby. Most people do.'

'Just you, Jakob!' winked Jarreck while lying down on his tube.

Reuban smiled. 'Seriously. You'll be fine.'

'When do we get to start work?' asked Helen.

'When we reach our destination.' He eased her down gently into the sleeping pod and patted her hair. 'Sleep well, kiddo.'

Helen lay down quietly, rubbing her fingers together nervously. Five minutes later, she watched in slight apprehension as the transparent lid lowered itself down over her, effectively sealing her shut in this plastic coffin. She heard the steady hiss of gas coming from somewhere inside, but tried to ignore it. She looked over at her two nearest companions, Jarreck and some other man – both of who were already asleep. Or so it seemed. _Don't fight the sleep,_ came back her uncle's words. Easier said than done. She forced her thoughts onto other topics. In her mind's eye, she saw images of her mother, working at her desk, worrying over something or the other and realized for the first time in a few hours, how much she missed her. But it was only two months, she told herself in consolation. They'd fly by rapidly. Her mind wandered over to what she would tell her friends at school after this trip and before she knew it, her eyelids drooped shut and everything faded into a silent set of black.


	4. Chapter 3

'Helen.' spoke the voice. For a second the girl thought she was hearing her radio alarm clock, and she moved her hand slightly to turn it off. She felt something momentarily grip her wrist and her eyelids fluttered open.

'Helen, it's time to wake up.'

'Uncle Jakob?' she asked, still feeling woozy.

'No, it's the Easter bunny.'

She propped herself up onto her elbow, looked around slowly and spoke. 'That was better than your last joke – still dry, but you're improving.' Her throat felt dry, hoarse.

Dr. Reuban smiled. 'Why thank you. Now get your butt out of this tube and take a shower. We've already started dinner, so when you've finished come join us in there.' He pointed down a dim corridor, through which, at the other end she could see a brighter light. 

'Dinner? What time is it?'

'Time doesn't matter out here in space – but I'll explain why later. The bathrooms are through that second corridor and to your right. There're signs – you can't miss it.'

She turned to him. 'Can I sit next to you at dinner? I don't...I guess I don't really enjoy being around new people. I'm not very social.'

'Sure thing.'

Reuban watched as she swung her legs over the pod and tip-toed over the cold floor towards the showers. He felt something strange – something he'd never felt before – graze his mind. A sort of protective concern perhaps. The last time he'd felt this way was when he was seven years old. His first and last pet, his basset hound named Ivy had taken ill. The dog no longer pounced about as it used to. It would simply sit in front of its kennel for days looking around at things and yet, not seeing them. Reuban had feigned distance and detachment after that, not wanting to worry himself with the painful connections to something external which logically shouldn't bother him. But it tore him up inside – not being able to hold that sick creature in his arms, to connect to it anymore. And when it eventually died, he never really completely forgave himself. The only thing that remained for him to do was to take this disconnection with living things to a new level. 

In school, he saw no real need for friends – and besides, good ones were terribly difficult to find and weren't worth the effort. Relationships with people were too tiresome as well, even that with his family. His own bubble-like world suited him fine. But soon, life took a sharp turn and threw him a curve ball. At the age of twenty-three, his parents died in a car accident. He was in college at the time, and had to fly back home to make the funeral arrangements. His older sister, Celia, was on her honeymoon. Only a few sparse relatives appeared to pay their respects, and the day after the funeral, they all flew back to their own homes, their own families. Jakob Reuban felt so alone, so out of touch with people. It was like being a sole survivor of some terrible accident of which no one could empathize with except for himself. He wanted to speak with his sister, to be consoled by her. To talk with her for hours or maybe even days...but it was too late now. She was starting her own life.

It was apparent that he realized his mistake, but at a cost to himself. He longed for this connection to be reformed – with people, but he didn't know how to make it come about. It was like a broken glass jar, he thought. You can still stick the pieces back together, but there will always be the missing few that represented a sense of incompleteness. And the jar would have cracks and hairline fractures – all too apparent to be ignored. But, decided Reuban, he would try. So he decided to start out small, by helping others through his work. 

He believed wholeheartedly in second chances. 

Fox Jarreck was the stereotypical new recruit at NASA. Young, intelligent and promising. He was cocky too – another, less desirable trait. But it only lasted so long. And when it ended, it ended painfully. To have everything that held up a man crumble before him like great city walls, with him at its center...that was a fate that Reuban could not wish upon his worst enemy. Reuban did not want to be yet another bystander in the arena. So he ran a few inquiries, to try to get to the central truth about the matter. He found his favorable opinion of Weyland Yutani turn to a darker, more clouded conception after reading some of the case files, especially the obscure yet alarmingly suspicious references to the newer prototype synthetics – those similar to the ones Jarreck described. But he knew that filing a separate case against Weyland Yutani would be costly and would most likely prove to be fruitless. So he brought together and investigative team that analyzed the blueprints of the Romulus craft and found faults in its internal structure. At the trial, the evidence didn't clear Jarreck's name, but it did keep him out of an insane asylum. It even allowed Jarreck to continue a career – nonetheless a demoted one – at NASA.

Reuban felt gratified at what he was able to do, but there was something missing. There was always something missing. The way he saw it, he was helping people while simultaneously standing behind an indestructible glass window, pushing buttons, moving rods...but never really touching, never coming into direct contact with anyone. It lessened his hope but did not extinguish it.

He would keep trying though, what else was left for him to do?

'Jakob,' called out a voice from the corridor, 'grub's up.'

Reuban walked slowly into the small dining room and sat down with the others – all six of them, excluding himself – Helen was still taking her time in the bathroom.

'Reuban,' said Mash while holding a pot of steaming coffee, 'I don't believe you've met Dr. Omitsu, Dr. Barnaby and Dr. Regan.' He gestured towards the three individuals who smiled in acknowledgement.

Reuban nodded politely. 'You'll excuse me if I don't shake hands across the table – I don't think I want to get teriyaki sauce over the cinnamon buns.' Reuban winced. This recent attempt at dry humor was getting ridiculous.

Thankfully, Barnaby laughed. 'I hear you've actually managed to bring a civvy on board, Reuban. Who's arm did you have to twist to let them give you the go ahead?'

'My niece?' Reuban chuckled as he eased into his seat. 'It took some twisting...but let's just say that working twenty years for the same company does have its pay-offs.'

'Such as?' asked Omitsu, as she sipped her tea.

'Well, you know...' spoke Reuban not really eager to get into the nitty-gritty of company politics.

'No, I don't.' she said, looking him in the eye.

'Uh...' hesitated Reuban.

Lexington quickly intervened. 'You know, I heard that Weyland Yutani's having some problems competing with some other companies offworld.'

'Yeah...too many dogs in the same fight,' concurred Regan – a middle aged gentleman with a shock of jet black hair. 'And I figure that the prey's pretty much chewed down to the bone on this one.'

'How so?' asked Lexington, as he reached for a cinnamon bun.

'I figure that it's great, you know, all these new microscopic species we've got coming in by the truckload. But the discoveries being made are fast becoming numbing – it's old news. I no longer read the newspaper and go "oh – an extra nitrogenous base on the double helix!"... it's become too _commonplace_.'

'But that doesn't make it any less extraordinary,' spoke Yuya who had said nothing for a while. Reuban turned his head a fraction to look at Jarreck. He was silent, chewing on a piece of toast – seemingly uninterested in the conversation. Reuban turned his attention back to the topic at hand.

'To the money-making industry – it does!' exclaimed Regan. 'The problem with us is that we get bored easily. Shock devalues itself too quickly. Everyone's fighting each other for the same thing. But I think Weyland Yutani's already on the trail of something bigger.'

'Why? Because their stock prices are falling – less investment in the corporation maybe?' asked Yuya.

'Not at the moment, but it's anticipated. The thing that makes a company smart is not to think _like_ its competitors, but to think four steps _ahead_ of them.'

Barnaby nodded. 'He's right. Take the other big research firm – Koisan – they're investing millions in producing expeditions, hiring more microbiologists. Which is all great...but it's too focused on the _now_.'

'I don't get it,' said Yuya. 'How can you possibly jump ahead to the future by not looking at the present? How can you predict something that hasn't even taken shape?'

Lexington stared straight at Barnaby. 'By creating it.' 

The room fell silent. The sound of approaching footsteps could be heard, and some of the tension dropped a degree or so.

'Look who's here! Nice of you to grace us with your presence!' said Lexington teasingly, as they all turned to greet their much younger companion. 'Ladies and gentlemen, this here is our Dr. Reuban's niece Helen.'

Helen smiled and took a seat next to her uncle. She felt odd, out of place. She hoped that she hadn't interrupted an important conversation.

'Helen, I hear you're planning on following in the footsteps of your uncle perhaps?' said Lexington.

'Maybe. Definitely research but I'm not sure about the entomology aspect.' Helen was hungry. She eyed the strawberry yoghurt at the opposite end of the table, but felt too awkward to ask for it.

'Why research?' asked Omitsu. 

'Because I like discovering things for myself.' Her hands were cold, so she placed them under her legs to keep them warm.

'A respectable field.' nodded Omitsu.

'What do you do?' asked Helen.

'I'm a geneticist.' said Omitsu simply.

'Do you regularly ship out on expeditions like this?' 

'Yes Helen, all the time.' Then she picked up the yoghurt and held it towards Helen. 'Would you like some?'

Helen nodded while averting her gaze. The woman was observant – so much so that it made her uncomfortable. She accepted the yoghurt and sank deep into her own thoughts as the conversation deviated from her and went down a road she could not follow. 

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Couldn't resist writing a new chapter. Thanks to Ryko Sill and Katimnai for the the reviews. They're greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 4

FIVE HOURS LATER

'More coffee?' said Yuya, offering a steaming thermos towards Jarreck.

'No – I think I've had enough.'

'Oh I don't know, I need something to calm my ravaged nerves.' said Yuya, taking a large gulp for himself.

'And coffee's just the cure.' quipped Jarreck with sarcasm. 'Buckle down, let's get this thing locked into the landing grid.'

The two men were seated in the cockpit, at the console looking at several screens piloting screens. There were no overhead lights that illuminated the room because the reflective light from stars and such outside were sufficient to do so. At first glance, the cockpit seemed small, with a mass of objects cluttered together emanating a feeling of tightness and sometimes even claustrophobia. But on second glance, one could see that the room was in actuality, relatively large. The cluttered feeling arose from the several instruments situated inside that were used to monitor the large craft.

Yuya put aside his thermos, and flipped a few switches above him. He stared ahead at the large planet before them, watching the light from the sun illuminate a small side of it, like a glowing blanket being pulled over a huge ball.

'So what do you think of the new cavalry?' he asked.

'What's to think? They're the passengers, we're the crew. Same as always.'

'You know, as strikingly intelligent as Dr. Omitsu is – she frightens me. And the other guy, Regan? What's all that sci-fi crap about predicting the future? I think they even managed to creep out our hardy fellow, Mash.' persisted Yuya.

Jarreck paused for a few seconds, reading the monitor before him. 'Get on the intercom and tell 'em we're touching base in about an hour, would you?' he spoke, ignoring the question.

'Jarreck. Cut the crap and admit it. I know you don't like it any more than I do.'

Jarreck turned his attention from his instrument panel and towards Yuya. 'There's nothing to like. But I'm just doing my job here. We land, get whatever data we have to get and then leave. That's all there is to it.'

Yuya sighed, acknowledging defeat and pressed a button to his right. 'This is Captain Kirk from the bridge – would all cabin crew please get to their landing stations in approximately thirty minutes. I repeat: cabin crew to landing stations.'

Jarreck laughed despite himself. 'You know something, man? Every time-' his words were suddenly cut short.

'Every time – what?'

'Hey, turn on your screen would you?' said Jarreck, not lifting his eyes from his own.

Yuya punched a couple of keys on his console and watched in anticipation as his monitor flickered to life. 'What am I looking for?'

'Um...try to zoom in on a hundred kilometer radius in quadrant B12. Three sectors away.'

A few seconds later, 'I don't see anything.'

'It's a tiny blip – here, wait...I'm zooming in further.' said Jarreck.

Yuya acknowledged the observation. 'Yeah...I see it. You think we're picking up some cross signals from somewhere else?'

'No, I checked it out already. We're on 95% enhancement. It can't possibly be anything external. And unless that's an asteroid emitting electromagnetic signals of its own – then I'm stumped.'

Yuya leaned closer and squinted. 'That's no fucking asteroid. It's a ship.'

'What?! It's too big to be a ship...' exclaimed Jarreck.

'Say what you will, man, but that looks like a ship to me. Look at the contours – it's too perfect to be a bloody rock.'

'A moon maybe?' suggested Jarreck, refusing to believe his friend.

Yuya leaned back into his chair. 'Like hell. What do we do now?'

* * *

Reuban stood in a small kitchen, similar to a narrow corridor, fixing himself one last pot of tea before they touched down. He touched the pot lightly to sense if it was warm enough to consume and then sighed. It was still quite cool. They always had problems with heating up things externally. Of course he could place it in a much larger heater – similar to the microwave heaters of old, but more efficient – but that was specifically constructed to tend to large amounts of food. Not for one stupid cup of tea.

He turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter. He heard the sound of footsteps grow louder.

'Dr. Reuban,' said a female voice from the kitchen entrance.

'Dr. Omitsu...' acknowledged Reuban.

She glanced from him to the pot of tea. 'I see I'm not the only one in need of a refreshment. Coffee or tea?'

'Neither at the moment. The damn thing's taking eons to heat up.'

'I guess I'll pass.'

Reuban nodded but said nothing.

Omitsu continued to speak. 'I must say, this is one of the shortest trips I've been on. Two months – round trip.'

'Well, we're not going very far from home base.'

Omitsu crossed her arms over her chest. 'How's your niece taking to this?'

'All right, I suppose. It's her first trip out...her mother was slightly concerned, so I decided to ship out with Helen on one of the shorter journeys. As her for her opinions of our exploits so far – I'm not so certain.'

Omitsu nodded. There was a brief period of silence and then she chuckled. 'This is so awkward isn't it?'

'I'm sorry?' said Reuban, not comprehending.

'The segregation here – the NASA crowd versus Weyland Yutani's henchmen – isn't that how you see it? And then we make all this pathetic small talk to reduce the tension...it's hilarious.'

Reuban turned around and touched the pot again. The damned thing wasn't heating up fast enough. 'If you say so.'

'Oh come on, Reuban. Looking in from the outside – that's what makes it hilarious. This little hierarchy thing we've got going. You look at us and think we're the mad scientists. We're the Mr. Hydes of science while you represent the more demure Dr. Jekylls.'

Reuban remained still with his back to Omitsu. Trapped in a cramped kitchen with a brilliant woman who spoke her mind. Perhaps if he suddenly were to demonstrate his illustrious tap-dancing skills, the topic would be changed. Or perhaps he could throw back some of his own. He turned to face her.

'Alright, Ms. Hyde – so we're looking at each other from opposite sides of the mirror. What do we do?'

'What do most beings do when they disagree?'

Reuban laughed nervously. 'I would hardly say this is a disagreement...it's just a conflict of interest.'

'Makes no difference to me.'

Reuban frowned, finally frustrated. 'Look, are you trying to say something of importance here? If so – I suggest you better just-'

They were both jolted out of the heat of the moment by a rather anxious voice over the intercom. "Dr. Reuban? I think you'd better come up on deck for a bit. We're going to have to hold off our vacation plans."

Reuban pressed a button situated on the wall, and spoke into a speaker adjacent to it. 'Be right there, Yuya.'

He walked hurriedly out of the room, with no word to Omitsu.

* * *

'So it's a ship. So what?' Said Jakob Reuban with his hands on his hips. He was still smoking from the confrontation with Dr. Omitsu a few minutes before, and this new information was taking its time to settle in.

Jarreck sighed, ran a hand through his cropped hair and let Yuya do the talking. 'We thought so too, so we tried to lock onto a signal. Something that could let us identify its company ID number. But we couldn't get any identification.'

'So what makes you think it's even a ship?' asked Reuban.

'I said we couldn't identify it – I didn't say we didn't get any signal,' said Yuya. He pressed a key on his console, and watched as a massive flow of data flooded the screen. He pressed the button again, which made the information pause on the screen. 'Maybe it'd be easier if you just take a look for yourself,'

Reuban leaned forward and looked at it. 'A code?'

'Possibly. Or maybe it's just one of their methods of communication – like we used to use binary.'

'I'm sorry – "_they_"? said Reuban with his eyebrows raised.

Jarreck interrupted. 'It's nothing we recognize. So our next best guess is that it's of non-human origin.'

'Can we zoom in further on this thing?' asked Reuban.

'Not unless we get physically closer to it.'

'How far away are we from it?' asked Reuban as he considered the thought.

'Pretty far,' Jarreck paused, rubbing his chin. 'If you wanted to get near it so that you're about a couple kilometers alongside of it – it'd take you about another one or two weeks. Keep in mind that this sector covers uncharted territory. No one sails out here unless they're asteroid surfers.'

'Any suggestions?' said Yuya looking from Jarreck to Reuban.

'We're going to obviously have to wait – discuss this with everyone else.' replied Reuban.

'You know what the outcome of that decision's going to be. This ship's full of scientists – they're not going to pass up the opportunity to investigate a potentially intelligent life-form.' said Jarreck.

Reuban let out a large sigh. 'I guess I'd better gather the pack round anyhow...' He turned around and made ready to exit the cockpit.

'Jakob,' spoke Jarreck suddenly from his seat. Reuban halted as Jarreck continued. 'We're offline. Not connected to any network right now. You want it to stay that way?'

Reuban smiled. The kid was always one step ahead of the game. They'd both had experience with company tactics. He knew that if any of this got back to company headquarters – they would send an immediate order to deviate from their current course and change the objectives of this expedition. And that would mean risking the lives of the crew and passengers aboard with this attempt at dealing with the unknown. Reuban's thoughts went back to Helen and he closed his eyes momentarily. He'd try his best to convince the others that such an expedition could be postponed.

'Yeah,' said Reuban, agreeing with his younger friend, 'let's cover their eyes.'

Yuya watched as Reuban left the room and then turned to Jarreck. 'What was that all about?'

Jarreck shrugged as he continued working at the console. 'Oh you know...probably nothing.'


	6. Chapter 5

The six of them sat together in the common area, seated around a small table with several items piled on top of it. There were a few news magazines in disarray, a few partially empty bowls of dry orange chicken and the standard smoking tray with its burnt cigarette butts sunk down into fine grains of ash.

Regan sat leaning back into his seat, his feet placed casually on what room was left on the table in front of him. But he didn't feel as relaxed as he appeared. When Reuban had come to them with this startling piece of information, Regan had hoped that he would have taken to the news with a larger degree of expectation and happiness instead of this unnerving anxiety he felt. He felt disappointed in himself – he'd been jabbering on for years about the almost certain possibility that they would soon make contact with an intelligent life form. It was inevitable at this point – of all these microscopic organisms, at least a few were bound to evolve into something multicellular, something with intelligence of its own. And not just primitive intelligence either! Those things – _beings_, he corrected himself – they were obviously capable of interstellar travel! It was likely they might be of superior intelligence to humans; the mere implications of this thought should provide him with a sense of conviction and vindication for his own ideas and ambitions.

And now that it had happened – now that they had the opportunity to actually communicate with it – he felt nothing but apprehension.

Regan gripped the cushion of the seat with his right hand, while the left remained relaxed on his lap. He was a medical doctor for Christ's sake! He should be excited, he shouldn't be sitting here like a burnt-out toaster waiting for some wussies from NASA in front of him to make these decisions! If they were successful, if this species was willing to be cooperative in initiating communication, then he, Mender Regan, would undoubtedly be the first in conducting a cursory examination of their anatomy. Of course, there would be a more rigorous follow-up to it, but just the primary exam would be enough to garner him more prestige in the medical field. Why the _hell_ wasn't he excited?

Mender Regan leaned forward and grabbed the bottled water off the table. He held it in his hand, turning the bottle around for a few seconds, while thinking. If he wasn't thrilled, the least he could do to maintain his reputation amongst this crowd would be to feign some excitement.

'So...getting back to the code, have you cracked it?' said Regan.

'We're doing that right now as we speak,' answered Reuban referring to Jarreck and Yuya back at the control room.

'I think that's of primary importance. That we figure out what the heck that thing means before we take any further action.' said Reuban.

'And if we don't...?' said Barnaby with his cigarette between his lips.

'Why don't we just take things one step at a time?' said Lexington, who had been seated in silence while listening to the conversation. 'No use rushing into things like a bunch of gung-ho cowboys.'

'I'm sorry, are you calling me a cowboy?' said Barnaby with an insinuating expression.

'People, people...' said Reuban, holding his palms out in appeasement. 'No one's calling anyone _anything_. I know we're all kind of tired and this...this whole incident is a pretty big piece of news to take in. But it's here and we have to deal with it in the best way possible. And that means no petty arguments.'

'All I'm saying,' began Lexington as he looked at Barnaby, 'is that this is an extremely important decision we're about to make. A small one on our part – yes – but with undeniably large consequences. We have to think through this one, take our time.'

'But how much time before this chance escapes us?' persisted Barnaby.

'I say we go in. We request permission to board – say our intentions are peaceful-' began Regan before he was interrupted.

'Oh you mean that that "take me to your fucking leader, we come in peace" horseshit is going to work dandy. And yeah, they're gonna roll out a fucking red carpet inviting us to come inside. _Sure_.' muttered Barnaby. He leaned back and inhaled his cigarette deeply.

Regan turned to him in annoyance. 'I'm on your side – what the hell's the matter with you?'

Reuban bent his head down and rubbed his brows together. This little committee meeting was not going as planned. The last part he wanted to play right now was nursemaid. '_Look_. We are not going to get anywhere with this. If you all want to discuss your bloody personal issues with each other well then, be my guest. But take it somewhere else. And if you feel that you're of an incompetent frame of mind to have this meeting now, then we'll do it later. So what'll it be?'

Barnaby closed his eyes and sighed. 'Yeah...alright,' he waved his hand towards Reuban lightly. 'Let's get this done with now.'

'Okay.' spoke Reuban. 'I agree with Mash. We wait to see if this code can be deciphered. We'll give it a time frame. If it can't be cracked in the time frame given, we come up with an alternate decision.'

'Have you alerted any external party to this news?' asked Omitsu.

'By that you mean the company or NASA?' asked Reuban. Omitsu nodded. 'No.' he answered.

'Why not?' asked Regan.

'Because he's afraid that it'll be out of his hands if he does so. And there are certain risk factors involved, certain members he does not want to place in jeopardy on the basis of company orders.' explained Omitsu.

At that moment, everyone looked to Helen, who was seated at the opposite end of the room, reading a book. Reuban thanked himself silently for not involving the child in this unstable discussion. They had forgotten that she was even in the vicinity, and some of them felt slightly ashamed for their behavior and their words before their younger companion. If she had heard them, of course.

'I agree with you completely.' spoke Omitsu. 'I don't see any reason for why you wouldn't mistrust the company's handling of this situation.'

Barnaby laughed. 'And you're saying we're a competent bunch?'

'Most of us are.' shot back Omitsu. She then turned her attention back to Reuban – she had no use for bickering with people that annoyed her – ignoring them seemed to work much better. 'But I disagree with your other decision. I think we should try and follow Regan's suggestion.'

'Enter into the abyss? With all due respect, Dr. Omitsu, I think you're being a little over-optimistic about all this,' commented Lexington. 'We don't know anything about these beings. If we can't establish a communication link – what then? Do we just board? I don't know about you, but if I were them I would most certainly view that as a hostile maneuver.'

Omitsu smiled. 'Maybe I am being optimistic, but what other choice have we? Sit still and simply gape at them through the windows? I think I speak for everyone on board this ship when I say that that's just _not_ an option.'

'I can't authorize sending any of you on board.' said Reuban as he shook his head. 'I can't take that kind of risk.'

'Then don't. Send out the probes.' said Regan.

'That still involves us docking with the other ship,' said Lexington.

'I'm not going to let a mechanical robot land the first foot – no, wheel – on board.' said Omitsu with annoyance.

'I believe that Dr. Reuban is in charge of this expedition, so no matter what any of us think – what he says goes.' spoke Lexington.

'The expedition that _Doctor_ Reuban is in charge of is the one on another planet. This new expedition does not fall under his jurisdiction anymore.' Omitsu stared back at Lexington.

Reuban looked on without a word. She was perfectly right according to company protocol. How convenient for her to choose when to trust and distrust their orders, he noted.

'So that leaves you in charge then, I suppose?'

'I didn't say that.' argued Omitsu.

'Oh great. This is just great. All this meeting has accomplished is that no one's in charge. What's next on the agenda? What everyone's favorite barbecue sauce is?' said Barnaby.

'Shut up.' said Omitsu, not lifting her gaze on Lexington. 'Let's bring it down to a vote. Plain and simple. All those in favor of boarding, raise their hands.'

'We're not representing the entire body. We need everyone here.' observed Regan.

'Then get everyone, for Pete's sake.' said Omitsu through gritted teeth.

'It's not a fair vote, Omitsu. I want to board that craft as much as you do. But under different circumstances. I have my niece to think about. If this goes wrong and something happens – we're going to be held accountable for it. And I'm not willing to do that.' Reuban leaned in. 'You agreed with me earlier – that you didn't believe in placing everyone's lives in jeopardy.'

'I agreed with your idea of not involving the company on this one. As for jeopardy, what's discovery without any risks involved?'

'We can solve this entire mess by doing something very simple,' interjected Barnaby. 'Contact the company.' he said with an exasperated sigh.

'No bloody way.' said Lexington.

There was a brief moment of silence that followed. Judging from the lapse in conversation, everyone but Barnaby seemed to agree with Lexington.

'Alright. Then wh-' began Regan before he stopped midway. 'I think you're wanted up in the cockpit, Reuban. Light's flashing above your head.' Regan pointed out.

Reuban looked behind him, and rose from his seat. 'Alright. Let's just put this meeting on hold.'

And then as he walked off, he muttered to himself. 'I could use a time-out anyway.'

* * *

'She's pulling away...' Yuya pointed to the screen.

Reuban looked in closer and saw a flashing white dot in the midst of several others on the location grid. It didn't move in any direction on screen, but the numbers on the bottom were increasing steadily, indicating that the ship was getting further from the _Aurelius_ with each passing second.

'How fast is she going?' asked Reuban.

'Fast enough to be out of our range and detection in the next thirty minutes.'

Reuban sighed. If anything was going to act as a catalyst for the decision-making process, this was it. 'Jarreck?' said Reuban, as if he was asking for the other man's confirmation on this new situation.

'Yuya's right on the money. I ran some calculations and looks like we'll be blind to her movements in exactly thirty-two minutes and counting. That is, if she doesn't change her speed anytime soon.'

'Do you think this is a reaction to having detected us?' asked Reuban.

'Can't say.' shrugged Jarreck. 'Wouldn't blame 'em if it was though...' he added.

'If you guys are planning on making a decision – now would be an excellent time to do so.' said Yuya.

'The expedition's out of my hands now, Yuya. According to damned technicalities in company policy. What I say doesn't count much-' began Reuban.

'Since when?!' interrupted Yuya in angry surprise.

'Since this isn't the same expedition he was assigned to lead.' explained Jarreck, catching on. 'But then who's in charge?'

'That's the sticky part.' said Reuban pursing his lips. 'Again, technically, we're supposed to report back to NASA or the company. But since we've temporarily broken communication...'

'...we're temporarily leaderless.' finished Jarreck.

'Shit.' cursed Yuya. 'But that doesn't eliminate the million dollar question. What's it going to be?'

Reuban breathed in deeply, threw his head back and stared at the ceiling for several moments. He knew what it was going to be right from the start. He knew that despite his misgivings and apprehensions, he would undoubtedly decide to board this other craft. It was in his nature as someone with an inquiring mind. How could he even think of passing up such an opportunity?

Helen.

The girl was not stupid – she would almost certainly see what kind of dilemma stood before them, and might even see how vital it was for them to establish contact with this species, but would she understand that there were certain risks involved? Did he? Almost certainly he did, but where exactly could he draw the line between which phenomena were better left undiscovered and which weren't?

The truth was, he couldn't.

'Alright boys...' he said as if finally resigning himself to a long weary task, 'looks like we're going to have to tail her. We'll decide whether we're ready to board her when the time comes. But for now – let's just take it as a given that we're going to set foot on that ship.' Reuban scratched behind his ear. 'Let's keep a safe distance though, alright? Jarreck, keep working on that transmission code. Yuya, I want you to send out a message to them in multi-communication forms – let's hope that they're able to make out of one of 'em at least.'

'What do you want me to say?' asked Yuya.

'Tell them that our intentions are peaceful and that we don't intend to harm them in any way. If they receive this transmission, we would appreciate an acknowledgement in return. If we don't receive anything, tell them that we will dock alongside them and send an investigative team in. Tell them again that our intentions are peaceful – our only purpose here is discovery.' stated Reuban. He turned towards Jarreck. 'You said it'll take about two weeks to catch up with them? Even if they're traveling at the velocity they're at now?'

Jarreck nodded.

'Can't we speed up the process?' asked Reuban.

'Sure we could – this ship's capable of greater speeds than what we're used to. Everyone'll have to go into cryo then, but that could mean that no one's awake if a transmission of any sort comes through to us.' explained Jarreck.

'We could set the stasis duration to be interrupted should any thing of the sort happen,' said Reuban, thinking.

'Yeah...we could do that.' concurred Yuya. 'So what'll it be, Cap'n? The maximum speed we can set this baby on would get us there in two days.'

'No – that's too fast. If I were them, I'd probably interpret that as some kind of pursuit. How about a week?' replied Reuban.

'Consider it done.'

* * *

**SEVEN HOURS LATER**

Helen stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared into it. The conversation that had taken place a few hours ago – she had heard it all. The disharmony, the cursing and the inconclusive results..._everything_. She had imagined that they would go on bickering for a solid twenty-four hours or so. But soon, something had happened that had wedged them all tightly in a corner – and a decision had to be made soon.

She saw her uncle come hurriedly back to the rest of the group. They spoke in more intense, lowered tones than before and also seem to reach a decision much faster. She knew then, by the look on Reuban's face what was going to happen.

Her uncle broke the news to her, and did so in such a way as if some beloved family member had passed. She could not understand why his expressions were so worried, so concerned. This was terribly fantastic news to her. She was on board just when it happened – when human beings were able to make contact with an intelligent species for the first time! She would be in history books as one of the passengers on board, she would be the coolest person in school. And that was only if you thought about the immediate consequences!

She grinned at herself in the mirror and spoke, thinking about what she would say to the media when she got back home. '_And here's the youngest explorer on board, ladies and gentlemen...Helen Reuban, can you recall your first emotions when you heard the news? What's your perspective on this issue?_' Helen touched her chest lightly. 'Well, I was shocked – obviously – but so excited. I realized that all we know about science and maybe even our existence could change in the breath of a moment. I-'

'Helen,' came a voice from outside the bathroom, startling her out of her vocalized musings. 'You talking to yourself, kiddo?'

'Uncle Jakob,' she said as she walked out to join him, slightly embarrassed at his discovery.

'Come on, everyone's going back into the ol' freezerio.' He led her forward gently with his hand. And then he added, as they walked down the corridors towards the cryo-sleep capsules, 'You sure your mom's going to be okay about this? Once she gets to the airport to pick you up and finds out you haven't arrived – she'll skin me alive.'

'Oh, so it's your neck you're worried about, hmm?' teased Helen. And then she said, more seriously, 'Well she won't be alright – at first. You know mom. But you said that once we've established contact with the company, we can then send her a message...Which reminds me, why can't you just do that now?'

'Contact the company? Um...for reasons that I kind of would rather avoid discussing until later on. Besides, I'm probably wrong – but better safe than sorry, huh?' answered Reuban.

'Sounds serious.'

Reuban didn't answer, so Helen continued to speak. 'Yeah, well...I think she'll be okay. I hope so. Anyways, she won't start panicking until our three weeks is up. Besides, this is really, really important. Probably one of the most mind-blowing discoveries man will make. Don't you think so?'

They reached the sleep pods and began to get into the capsules.

Reuban took a deep breath and smiled. 'Yeah. I've been getting that a lot lately.'


	7. Chapter 6

**TWELVE DAYS LATER**

Yoshi Tamayuya stood bent over in the storage room, peering into one of the helmets from the suits field researchers would use to wear outside. He fiddled slightly with a dial inside, causing a button within it to grow bright green. Seconds later though, the light flickered off and no more static could be heard.

'Oh no...not _now_.' he moaned.

* * *

Dr. Reuban zipped up his thermal suit over his clothes and stood still for a few minutes. So that was it then. They were going to board the other craft. Jarreck and Yuya had tried deciphering the code to no avail and they didn't receive any response to the messages they had sent out a week earlier. Omitsu and the others (the other being Regan only, since both Barnaby and Lexington seemed opposed to this action for reasons of their own) had decided that the best option available to them was to go ahead with their initial decision. So they had deftly managed to move alongside their new neighbors, and dock with their craft. There was not much talk about the actual board process, apart from the practicalities of it – perhaps, thought Reuban, everyone kept their own apprehensions to themselves. Helen, on the other hand seemed thoroughly excited and had no fear about vocalizing her feelings. She had even ventured so far as to keep a log in her new field journal, and carried the small book around as a Jehovah's Witness would their Bible.

He felt something rumble in his stomach and pressed his hand lightly against it to calm it down. Reuban closed his eyes. Lord, he hopes that what he was doing was the right thing. Shutting themselves off from Company sounded like a good idea at the time, but should anything go wrong, what would happen to them? _Three people are staying back on board for these very reasons, he told himself. _But there were other considerations that disturbed him. Would the Company become overly concerned due to this sudden loss in communication? Most likely, yes, but there was often a standard period of time before any alarm bells went off, wasn't there?

'Uncle Jakob?' called out Helen's voice from outside the doorway. 'Can I come in?'

'Sure,' he answered, sliding open the door for her.

She walked his and pulled out a worn down pencil from her pocket. From her other one, she withdrew her journal and promptly sat down on the edge of a table looking up at him expectantly. 'Can I ask you how you feel about this? Like, it's almost thirty minutes before you guys get out there...are you nervous?'

Reuban sighed and got down on his knees. He really was in no mood to be interviewed, all considerations of future fame aside. 'Helen, listen to me. If anything goes wrong in there I want you to do everything that Jarreck and Yuya tell you. They may be just pilots to you, but I would trust them with my life.'

'So you're nervous about the fact that _they_ might be potentially hostile?' she scribbled furiously in her little book.

Reuban gently pulled the book away from her, and looked into his niece's eyes. 'I'm not leaving anything to chance. I told Jarreck and Yuya to get the hell away from that ship if anything happens. No heroics. And I'm placing you in their care, so you have nothing to be worried about.'

She paused for a few moments, as if considering something. 'If there's nothing to be so worried about,' began Helen in a small voice, '...then why are your hands shaking?'

Seconds before he could answer, he heard a soft beep as the door slid open and Lexington stuck in his through it. 'Reuban-' he started with a loud voice, and when he saw Helen inside he lowered his tone, 'there's some small problem with the suits.'

Reuban nodded, rose up onto his feet and turned his attention to Helen. 'Okay kiddo, I want you up in the cockpit now.'

Helen walked forward a few steps and then hesitated. 'But I wanna watch you guys leave,'

'You can – Jarreck'll plug you in – and you'll be able to see us on the screen. Go on now, we have to get this show on the road.'

She sighed and grudgingly walked out the door.

* * *

'What do you mean: the visual transmitters aren't working?' shouted Reuban, his face turning red.

'I mean they're out of business, they run for about three seconds each time before they conk out!' answerd Yuya – a little annoyed himself.

Reuban rolled his eyes and allowed himself to exhale deeply. 'Those damn hotshots back at the tech units are supposed to check up on these things – oh _bloody hell_.'

'Well, is there some other way we can get a visual feed back onto your screen?' asked Lexington, turning to Yuya.

'Nope. Not that I know of.' Then he paused momentarily and spoke. 'But hold up,' He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking. 'No visual...but I can definitely set this thing to transmit an audio signal.'

'So you'll be able to hear us from in there?' asked Lexington jerking his thumb towards the outside of the _Aurelius_.

'Yeah, given that the other ship's structure doesn't cause much interference.' explained Yuya.

'Sounds like a plan to me. How long to you need to reset the suits?' asked Lexington.

'Give me ten minutes.'

* * *

30 MINUTES LATER

The four individuals stood in the hatchway like some bloated unearthly beings, the whites of their suits reflecting the bright glow of the fluorescent lights overhead. The hatchway was narrow – but it provided its temporary inhabitants with protruding panels for seats while they waited for clearance to open the main hatch locks.

Barnaby sat down first and spoke into the speaker within his helmet; his voice came out sounding more brash and metallic. 'Reuban, Omitsu, I uh...I just wanted to say that I think I may have acted somewhat inappropriately the other day. Said some things I shouldn't have.'

'Bygones.' spoke Reuban. To be honest, he would have probably liked to get a bit of his own back, but considering the circumstances and how he felt at the moment, he tossed the notion aside. Besides, a more pressing situation lay before him. He looked anxiously towards the door that led to the other craft and then back towards the door that they emerged from. 'Where the heck is Lexington?'

'One laser cutter coming right up,' spoke a voice inside everyone's suit as the door of the Aurelius slid open.

Each individual could hear Lexington breathing heavily as he pushed something that looked somewhat like the proboscis of a mosquito on a cart in front of him. He gestured towards the piece of equipment. 'Meet my old friend, Bud. Bud, meet my new friends. Ladies and gentlemen, Bud here will now demonstrate his unique ability to cut through the hardest of materials with his laser sharp eyes.'

'Without posing as a fire hazard?' said Barnaby as the others laughed. The joke seemed to lighten the atmosphere, but not completely.

'With Lexington, everything's a damn fire hazard. I carry an extra can of CO2 whenever I'm around this kook,' came a voice over the intercom. It was Jarreck making his own contribution to the nervous party. 'Okay folks, I'm locking shut the inner hatch now. Hold on a sec, Reuban – I think your niece here wants to chip in a few encouraging words.'

They heard some rustling noises and then finally a young girl's voice. 'Good luck everybody! Go break a leg!'

'I certainly hope not...' teased Lexington. And then more seriously, 'Thanks Helen. We trust you folks to keep an eye out up there, alright? Sure you can can handle yourselves?'

Jarreck's voice could be heard again. 'As sure as my name ain't Kangaroo Jack.' He paused briefly, 'You guys wanna say anything? Uh...a couple words maybe before...'

'Oh for God's sake, Jarreck!' piped up Reuban who couldn't take it any more. 'We're all as nervous as hell! If you don't open the door, I'm afraid I'm going to burst a blood vessel right here in this suit.'

'Hey, tell Helen to record that as our first official statement before we went in...' chuckled Barnaby as he tried to sound cheerful.

They heard laughter over the intercom. 'Believe me, that's one to go down in the history books. Okay folks, I'm opening the outer doorway..._now_.'

After several heartbeats all heads turned simultaneously towards the opening. They could see small wisps of air get sucked out through narrow gaps where the hatchway tunnel joined with the doorway of the other ship.

The five of them heard Yuya's voice speak excitedly over the intercom. 'I'm getting a fuzzy visual feed from the hatchway camera...d'you see the door?'

Reuban looked at the black wall in front of him – they couldn't see any outlines of what they would recognize as a door. He stepped forward and placed his hand tentatively on its surface, as if he was trying to feel through the thick material of the suit. He turned his palm upwards and noticed droplets of condensed water on it.

'Do you see the door?' repeated Yuya.

'A wall. It's a goddamned wall.' breathed Reuban.

'You sure you docked with them at their entrance? This isn't an entrance.' spoke Regan.

'Yeah, we're sure...' said Yuya.

Reuban looked up, almost towards the ceiling and spoke slowly. 'He's right...it is a door. Oh my God. Oh my God – I feel like Alice...'

Lexington stepped past Barnaby and stood beside Reuban realizing what he was looking at. The door was so massive that their pitifully small hatchway opening only allowed them to view it as a wall. 'It's huge. They must be huge.'

'Why didn't we think of it before?' said Barnaby with widened eyes. 'The ship's so large not because it has a large crew...it's because the crew themselves are huge.'

There was a moment of silence.

'-ut through?' crackled Reuban's voice through everyone's helmet.

'What?' asked Lexington.

'Can we cut through this and seal it effectively? We're obviously not going to be able to open it up any other way.'

Lexington continued to stare at the seemingly solid mass in front of them before he spoke. 'I think so...I have something to wield it shut once we're in. But we're going to have to remain docked with the _Aurelius_ while we're doing this in case any of us gets sucked out. I don't want to end up as an orbiting moon around a planet anytime soon.'

'Sure. Yeah...Jarreck, Yuya? You getting all this? Do _not_ pull away until I give you the go ahead.'

'Yes.' came a weak voice before its owner cleared his throat. 'I mean, yeah.'

'Okay, Lexington. Bring out your bag of magic tricks.'

* * *

The four of them stood behind Lexington as he used his tools to cut an opening big enough for them to get through. They could hear heavy breathing, momentarily interrupted with lowered curses and barely audible sounds they couldn't make out. A solid ten minutes labored by when finally Lexington stood up from his bent position and beckoned to the others.

He put his tool aside as he spoke. 'Someone want to give me a hand with this?'

Regan stepped forward. 'Push it?'

'Yes,' he leaned with his right shoulder against the edge of the door where his trusty compatriot Bud had made deep incisions. 'Lean into the edges like me. Push consistently but not too forcefully. No sudden shoves. We don't want to shatter anything.'

Regan did as instructed and finally they heard a low groan as part of the door – towards Lexington's side – gave way to a large enough opening for the average sized individual to squeeze through.

Reuban looked towards the hatchway camera, where he knew Jarreck, Yuya and Helen would closely be watching. 'Open!' he cried.

'Okaaay...' breathed out Lexington. 'Now what?'

'Now we go inside.' spoke Omitsu suddenly, who hadn't said a word throughout the whole time. 'Ladies first though.'

She moved past the men and stood in front of the door they had made for themselves. She looked at it for a second, and thought how it looked like a magnified version of an open sardine tin – only that it was not curled so much and that it did so inwards instead of outwards. Omitsu squinted her eyes and peered in, trying to gauge what was inside before she too joined the inhabitants within. But she saw nothing, save for blackness. No good at guessing what the Christmas gift was – she would have to undo the wrapping.

Reuban looked at her and thought that perhaps she was hesitating. Hesitating now because the moment was very likely too much for her to handle. And it was-

She went in.

* * *

Five minutes later they all entered the ship and stood congregated in a small group by their "doorway". Regan looked faced away from the entrance and turned on his light beam on the suit. Barnaby did the same as the others looked on, watching the lights illuminate some of the interior of the craft.

'Roof must be at least twenty feet tall...' muttered someone.

'Over there. Shine it over there.' instructed Reuban.

The five individuals watched in stunned silence as the lights swept over the walls, moving upwards revealing heavy, black thick walls that curved silently upwards to the tall ceiling. There were systematic ridges that ran along both the walls and ceiling, almost similar to the padding found in some psychological asylum wards. Then the light beam moved, as if it were the eyes of the explorers, towards the interior of the ship. But it only reached so far. All they could see was a huge tunnel adorned with similar walls and its center was like a pupil of an eye – sucking in all the darkness it could in one breath.

'Go in?' suggested Regan.

'No, seal the door. Let's do that first.' said Lexington, tearing his gaze away from the interior.

'Wait,' said Reuban placing a hand on his shoulder. 'Jarreck? You hearing us fine in here?'

'Just fine.' spoke Jarreck's voice.

'Okay – our audio connection's secure,' muttered Reuban to himself. And then to Jarreck, 'We're gonna seal the doorway now, okay? We're going to do this as planned. You dislodge the _Aurelius_ now. Give us twenty-four hours and then dock back with this ship. If the audio's dead – if you don't hear from us after three hours I want you to get the heck out of here.'

'Roger that.' acknowledged Jarreck.

'And Jarreck?' said Reuban. 'You know what _not_ to do if this happens...'

'I believe your instructions were perfectly clear.' he answered.

'What's not to be done?' asked Barnaby.

'Not important. Not right now.' replied Reuban.

Barnaby swallowed and gave up pursuing the matter. He turned to the others who were seemingly oblivious to the whole conversation, gazing at the giant darkness of the ship. Nothing seemed more important right then. Nothing.

'Sealing the door...' spoke Lexington mechanically. 'Should be done in a few minutes...' He turned his face towards Reuban as he worked. 'Jakob, I'm feeling kind of thirsty – you think our er..._hosts_, could throw us a cocktail party sometime soon?'

'I don't know. One thing's for sure though. I'm going to throw a bloody party once we get off this place.' said Reuban. Then to himself he muttered, 'Feels like a mistake...'


	8. Chapter 7

**INSIDE THE AURELIUS**

'How're their vitals doing?' spoke Yuya as he worked on his console.

'Just dandy – pulse rates are up...I assume that's normal, although I'm no real doctor.' replied Jarreck.

'There's a threshold value though, isn't there? Goes higher than that and we can start worrying.'

'Yeah...but we're not there yet. Where's the kid?' asked Jarreck taking off his headphone receiver, looking around for Helen.

'Beats me. Must've gone for a walk.'

'You nervous?' asked Jarreck, scratching behind his ear.

'No,'

'You look nervous.'

'I'm not nervous.' Yuya jerked his thumb in the direction outside the ship. 'I'm not the one in that contraption.'

'Well, I am. I...uh...got a bad feeling.' spoke Jarreck, suddenly lowering his voice.

Yuya raised his eyebrows, and then laughed. 'I know you've heard this song before, but this whole _thing_,' Yuya gestured with his hands, 'this whole freaking incident...goes without saying that such feelings are bound to be part of the package, y'know?'

Jarreck shut his eyes momentarily and took a few deep breaths. It wasn't mere nervousness, he knew. He'd been down this road before. Before all those people got killed. Before all those androids malfunctioned. Before his life fell apart. No one believed him then, and he was positive that no one would believe him now.

He opened his eyes and gave Yuya a defeated look. 'Yeah. Alright, man. Alright.' He unbuckled himself from his seat and patted Yuya on the back. 'Take command of the bridge, would ya Scotty? I'm gonna see if I can get some shut-eye.'

* * *

_Shut-eye, my ass,_ thought Jarreck. He couldn't find sleep if he was loaded with ten pounds of Valium. What he _did_ intend to do was to check up on their stock of weapons, should anything serious occur. Heaven forbid that it would. Jarreck thought back to the last time he looked over the list of standard items this type of vessel carried and conjured up a blurry image of first aid equipment, blasting devices – God bless Lexington, life preserver suits, dried food, field recording equipment...but nothing remotely related to artillery fire. Jarreck cursed under his breath. This was a discovery mission. Surely the scientists on board did not anticipate that all their findings would be benign and harmless? What if they did encounter something hostile – what were they going to fight it with? Picks and shovels? Panic started to well up inside of him, and he held the side of the wall to try and get a hold on his feelings. _Paranoia_, he thought to himself. _Sheer paranoia_. In less than twenty four hours the rest of them would be back with miniature findings to fill their Petri dishes up with – nothing more. _And you'll look like a lunatic Rambo waiting to open fire on a horde of unicellular organisms._ Yeah...but unicellular organisms did _not_ build that vessel. Something bloody big did. And something of obvious intelligence.

Jarreck looked down at his boots and scrunched up his fists into tight balls. Paranoia be damned, if something was going to happen he'd like to be there to stop it. He didn't want a rerun of the incident that almost destroyed his life.

He continued walking down the corridor determinedly. No weapons? Alright then, he'd have to come up with a crude rendition of some kind of gun. He might even have to resort to taking apart some of the original equipment on board, but that wasn't of primary concern. Jarreck could immediately explain his actions should they be questioned.

He made his way down to one of the storage rooms.

* * *

**THE VESSEL**

'Right then.' said Lexington in the corner of darkness. 'Right then, which way?'

'Forward...I guess,' muttered Barnaby in reply.

Lexington looked around for any disagreeing persons, and in the dim light of the lamps he saw blank expressions. 'Forward it is. Uh...might I suggest that we tie some rope around all of our waists? We don't want to lose anyone...'

'Fine with me.' said someone.

They spent a few minutes fumbling for the rope and the process of tying it and then once again stood in silence.

'I'll lead,' spoke up Omitsu. 'If anyone begins feeling uncomfortable, or notices an increase in pressure inside their suits, please speak up. It could be that you're experiencing an adverse sign of this foreign environment, and your suit – for some reason – is not equipped to deal with it.'

'Can we get going?' said Reuban suddenly feeling the impatience of a six year old.

'I'm merely stating this for your own personal safety,' spoke Omitsu calmly.

Reuban nodded in the dark and looked around him. He wondered what Helen was doing.

Omitsu started walking forward, and the rest of them could feel the slight tug of the rope against their waists and started moving their feet to keep pace with hers. Reuban wondered what the ground would feel like to his touch, and shone the lamp attached to his suit downwards to get a visual interpretation of how it would feel. Black. He couldn't observe any grooves or erosion – as far his eyes knew it was very smooth. Then why weren't they slipping around like penguins on ice, he wondered? Whatever the material, it must have a substantial amount of friction to keep all five of them upright and walking.

'Stop!' he cried.

Reuban felt the rope jerk.

'What is it?' spoke an alarmed Lexington.

'The floor – do you think we could maybe get a sample of it? It seems as if it may be malleable. Possible to break a part of it off and take it back for analysis...'

'For God's sake Reuban!' exclaimed Lexington. 'I thought we were being attacked! The next time you cry out like that you'd better have something more substantial to scream about than alien linoleum!'

'Don't break off anything!' said Omitsu sternly. ''We don't even know if we're being watched. And for beings who attest to be coming in peace in the name of discovery – we'd look more like vandals! I don't want anyone taking anything back unless we're absolutely certain there's no one on board.'

They continued their tentative walk and Reuban could hear Barnaby mutter something under his breath. 'The only thing I'll be absolutely certain about is that I won't be bloody certain. How we're going to search this entire...' and then his voice became inaudible.

'You notice something odd?' said Regan after a period of silence.

'Oh no...nothing out of the ordinary...' spoke Barnaby in a sarcastic tone.

'No, I mean, look at the absence of any written material, signs...anything. How does any being on board get around?'

'Odd, but certainly not unexpected.' began Lexington. 'This is an alien race we're dealing with. To assume that they're going to behave very similar to us is an extremely poor hypothesis. It's like a bad science fiction film – the naïve assumption is that the aliens that come invade our planet have two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. The only difference is that their skin's green or their body's of incorrect proportions – but usually something there's always something we can relate to. But this is reality...and there may be a whole other method of communication these creatures have established and probably even have an alternative or wholly different organ to make use of this communication.'

'But don't you think there should be _something_ on board we can relate to?' persisted Regan. 'So far I've seen nothing.'

'We've seen quite a number of similarities.' explained Lexington. 'Firstly, they travel about by means of a ship. Like us. Secondly, they have a door by which they enter this craft. Again, like us.'

'So we can rule out the fact that they can teleport or walk through walls, huh?' said Barnaby.

'Exactly. And what's more-' Lexington was stopped mid-sentence by something that caught his attention.

'...yeah?' prompted Regan, wondering if Lexington was at a loss for words.

'Shine your light to the right ahead of us towards the floor... No, not that far ahead, about five yards,' instructed Lexington.

The others all did as told, and squinted their eyes in anticipation of catching a glimpse of whatever had caught Lexington's attention. Omitsu sighed in frustration as she tried in vain to do so, and Barnaby began to mutter again. Reuban leaned slightly forward and saw something that was much darker than the blackness that enveloped them – if that were even possible.

'...is it a sack? A body mass?' ventured Reuban.

'Omitsu, let's get closer.' spoke Lexington excitedly.

'Wait, wait...I want to switch onto main audio. I want the _Aurelius_ to hear every word, in case this should get nasty.' spoke Reuban as he pressed something on his suit.

Omitsu rolled her eyes. 'For God's sake – don't be so morbid!'

But even she couldn't maintain her frustration amidst the growing excitement. The five of them stepped forward and peered at the black oddity.

'A hole!' shouted Regan suddenly. 'A hole that leads to another level on this ship!'

'Maybe that's where the crew is...'

'Let's go down and see.' suggested Regan. 'I'm volunteering to go first.'

Omitsu shot him a look that he didn't notice. 'Maybe we should make sure that this hole is in fact an entrance to the next level.' she said.

'What're you saying?' asked Reuban.

'I've been thinking. What if...the reason why this ship has not been responding to our communication signals is because the crew members are all dead? What if this hole hasn't been made by them? It certainly doesn't look like it's been purposely manufactured. Looks like it's some kind of accident...'

'That's ridiculous. Just because it doesn't look man-made doesn't mean somebody dropped a washing machine through the floor above.' snorted Lexington.

'That's not what I'm saying,' argued Omitsu.

'-I suggest we better get a move on... We only have about twenty more hours left to explore this entire labyrinth.' spoke Regan.

'I agree.' said Barnaby stretching out his hand. 'You first though.'

'Wait-' Reuban tried to interrupt, but Lexington had already begun to untie the rope around Regan and was tying a longer nylon cord around his waist.

Reuban watched in stunned silence as Barnaby and Lexington lowered Regan through the large cavity in the floor. As he went downwards, Reuban could hear Regan breathing heavily trying to sound cheerful as he did so.

'All in the name of science...' he said.

* * *

**THE AURELIUS**

'They found something! They finally found something!' screamed the girl, startling Yuya.

'Where the hell did you spring up from?!' he breathed.

Helen's face shone with excitement. 'I just walked in when the audio from outside turned on...I can't believe it!' She thumped the back of his seat repeatedly.

'Yeah well, no need to go all gangsta on me, huh?' he craned his neck around to look at her. 'Go get Jarreck, would you? This is something he'd want to hear.'

'But I want to hear this too,' she protested.

'This is all being recorded. If anything happens, you can hear the replay. You won't miss a thing. Now go find him – he should be in the lounge, taking a nap.' instructed Yuya.

Helen opened her mouth to voice her desire to remain in the cockpit, when something crossed her mind. 'Jarreck's not in the lounge – I was there and I didn't see him at all.'

Yuya ignored her as he started adjusting some dials on his console. 'Just go find him, okay? This is important.'

Helen threw her hands up in despair and walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 8

**THE _AURELIUS_**

Helen made her way down to the next level and into the lounge area. She scratched underneath her chin while looking around for any signs of Jarreck. She walked over to the side table and saw what appeared to be a paperback novel laying face down with its pages open. It was the same one Jarreck had been dragging around everywhere he went. Helen lifted the book up to get a look at its cover. "Complex Analysis of Unstable Systems" read the title. Helen grimaced and spoke to herself. 'So this is what he does to relax...Jeez,' She put down the book like it was a piece of unclean underwear and turned to see Jarreck stumble in with an armful of oddly shaped gadgets, each seemingly of different proportions.

He put everything down on a larger table and breathed out while wiping the sweat off his brow. Some of the items rolled off the table and fell with a clatter to the floor.

'I think I've got my annual does of exercise, don't you?' smiled Jarreck acknowledging Helen.

She looked at the items, beginning to conjure up some kind of response to them but then thought better of it. 'Uh...Yuya told me to come get you. They've found something – the others I mean. I think it might be important.'

'Oh yeah?' said Jarreck as he flopped himself down on the couch and started poking through the objects. 'Is it urgent?'

Helen reflected for a moment. 'I don't think so,' she said slowly. 'But it's important.'

'Well, if it's urgent tell him I'll be right up. But if it isn't, I need some time here. I got myself some work to do.'

'What kind of work?' she asked, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer.

'Long story, kid.' he replied looking up.

'Well, I'm not going anyplace.'

'Okay...I just figured,' he scratched behind his ear thoughtfully. 'I figure that in case something bad does happen-' and then on seeing the wide-eyed look on Helen's face he spoke quickly trying to ease her fears. '-not that anything like that's guaranteed to happen! I'm just taking precautions. Every exploration vehicle usually takes on these procedures.' Jarreck bit his lip. He had lied about that. Well, technically it wasn't a lie. Every ship did have standard precautionary measures, but these did not include the use of weapons. He'd just obscured part of the truth. A little voice nagged at him; then, again, technically, didn't that qualify as a lie? He ignored it and continued. 'So, in the rare instance that something like this does happen, we could do with basic weapons of some sort.'

Helen nodded and then looked at him, puzzled. 'But these don't look like weapons...' she pointed out.

'Yeah, I know. Not yet...I need to actually couple a few of 'em together. It's kind of primitive, I know. But it's the best I can do in a short span of time.'

She picked up a sleek piece of metal that tapered off into a point and peered at it. 'Gunpowder-kind-of-primitive?'

He laughed. 'No, not that far back. You're holding a laser generator there. I'm going to use this baby,' he picked up an object strikingly bulky in comparison to the laser, 'to amplify this strength of this laser so that it can burn through about two feet of steel.'

Helen opened her mouth in an O-shape. 'Whoa! Can I help build it?'

'Okay, for the preliminary stages. After that I need to go test it out and I'd prefer it if you could maybe...uh...'

'Get lost?' grinned Helen.

'Not in such harsh terminology – but yeah, that's the gist of it. Don't want you to burn a hole in your arm or anything.'

'Sure, no problem.' she sat herself down next to him. 'When do we start?'

* * *

**THE CRAFT**

'Oh, this is a mistake,' breathed out Reuban as he clutched part of his helmet with his suited hand.

Lexington spoke loudly. 'Regan? You alright down there?'

'Just fine...just fine. Uh...if this is even possible, it's damned dark down here. I can't see very far at all.' came Regan's voice.

'Check your lamp – maybe the battery's dying.' said Lexington.

A beat. 'No, battery level looks fine. It's just extra dark in here, that's all.'

'That doesn't make sense, why should light intensity vary from one area to another?' asked Omitsu.

'Because there were more of us with lamps up here, that's all.' explained Barnaby.

'No...no, I don't think that's it. It seriously does seem darker in here folks.' said Regan.

Reuban shuffled his feet together in nervousness. This talk – be it paranoid or the plain truth – wasn't easing his anxieties in the least. He found this new turn of events, and their decision to let one of their members to go off on his own very risky. If something were to happen what was plan B? _The point is_, thought Reuban, _there is no plan B. We're playing this score by ear – what a time to improvise!_ How many of them, he thought, would be willing to risk it all and go retrieve Regan if he became injured? Lexington maybe. But he doubted that Barnaby would be able to squeeze out any courageousness out of all that sarcasm he'd soaked up. As for Omitsu, he honestly couldn't read, let alone anticipate what the woman would do. I guess I'd be the next pawn to sacrifice in this chess game in hell.

'Reuban?' said Lexington, turning towards his friend.

'What?'

Lexington placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'You look a tad queasy... Need to sit down awhile?'

'Where? On that wooden bench near the scenic lake?' quipped Reuban, a little irritated. He sighed, regretting his snappishness and changed his tone. 'No, no. I'm fine. Just nervous.'

A voice spoke up. 'Hate to interrupt any party talk, but I think I'm going to walk down a little further here. I think my eyes have adjusted themselves enough to detect a faint light further on...'

Omitsu quickly hustled herself to Lexington's side. 'Wait, you'll need someone to come with you. Lower me down, Lexington.'

Reuban looked at Omitsu in surprise. A minute ago, she appeared to be rather hesitant in anyone proceeding down that opening. And now she was all game for it.

As if she read his mind, Omitsu turned to Reuban moments before Lexington and Barnaby lowered her down. 'Precautionary, of course. Two heads are better than one...'

Reuban felt as if he couldn't believe her. But he nodded anyway.

* * *

**THE _AURELIUS_**

'Spanner please,' said Jarreck holding two pieces of equipment together, 'I think I placed the damned screw in the wrong joint...'

Helen handed it to him. 'Where'd you learn all this stuff? Do they teach you this while you qualify to become a pilot?'

He paused, as if deciding how to answer the question. 'Not really...'

'Don't tell me you used to build weapons as a child,' she said, suppressing a laugh.

Jarreck chuckled. 'Remember that long story I failed to tell? Has something to do with that.'

'Oh.'

He put down what he was working on and sighed. 'Long stories are long because they don't exactly warrant enthusiasm on behalf of the storyteller.'

'I won't tell anyone.' said Helen.

'Oh that's not the issue...that's not the issue here at all. Your uncle knows. As do Lexington and Yuya. Matter of fact, it was your uncle who bailed me out of the mess I was in. And what a mess it was...' he said, breathing out slowly.

'Something to do with your family?'

'No. Before this job – before I became a pilot, I was a physicist, Helen. I went on this run to test out this new craft I helped built. And stuff went wrong. Lost my friends, my job, my reputation...'

'I see,' she said quietly. Getting him to go into detail didn't seem a good idea – it actually looked as if it physically pained him to do so. 'You don't have say anything more about it if you don't want to. Shit happens, huh?'

Jarreck picked up the objects and began working on them again. 'Boy, does it ever.'

Helen placed her hands on her lap and looked at her watch. 'Shoot. I forgot to tell Yuya that I found you... Should probably go back up there and let him know.' She rose from her seat and looked at him before exiting the room. 'I'm sorry. About what happened to you. But in my opinion, it looks like whatever happened wasn't your fault. Doesn't seem as if you'd do something that bad deliberately...you shouldn't blame yourself...I know that sounds awfully trite, but it's true.'

Jarreck looked at the heap of objects that were now beginning to roughly resemble working weapons. 'Thanks.' he said. He watched the girl walk out of the room and spoke to himself. 'Can't exactly lift the blame when you yourself aren't sure of what happened, can you?'

* * *

**THE CRAFT**

Omitsu squinted in the darkness despite the presence of the two lamps. _Looks like Regan might be correct after all_, she thought. She felt cramped and restrained and wondered why. She stretched out her hands and felt something solid. Omitsu walked a few paces towards Regan and spoke. 'A corridor? Why didn't you notice this earlier?' she asked him.

'I didn't think it was important,' he began.

'That's probably why it's so goddamn dark in here.' she sounded irritated.

'Shall we press on?' said Regan ignoring her. 'Lexington? Hang on to that rope, huh? If Gretel and I get lost here, we'll need something to help us find our way back.'

'Will do.' answered Lexington.

'You're right about that light though...' spoke Omitsu softly, pointing ahead of her. 'Not to bright to assume that it's some kind of lamp. The corridor probably widens out into a larger area. It doesn't even seem too far ahead...'

Three minutes later they both found out that her words rung true. This new area seemed even larger than the one they first entered. There was a solid walkway that almost seemed like a crude impression of a catwalk, with sloping edges on either side. Omitsu looked around her, and on first glace, her lamp illuminated something that looked like uneven lumps. She steadied herself and looked closer. Omitsu quickly clutched Regan in excitement.

'Look, look...' she breathed.

'Oh my God, oh my God...'

'What is it?' came Lexington's voice.

'Eggs. Hundreds and thousands of eggs.' said Regan softly.

'I've got to take a look,' said Omitsu as she climbed down before Regan could stop her.

She slid down the small embankment and landed with a thud on the floor. She quickly struggled to get up and made her way to the nearest egg. Omitsu tentatively touched the outer skin and found that pieces of it flaked off onto her suited palm.

'It's so dry... I think whatever's in here is dead. It must have been dehydrated or something – they need liquid to survive! I wonder if they utilize water as a solvent for their metabolic reactions...' she said, mainly to herself.

'Are you completely sure it's dead?' came another voice. Omitsu thought it was Reuban.

'I'm ninety percent sure.' She pressed her hand with more weight against the side of the egg, and watched a chunk of it fall to the floor. 'Oh yeah, whatever was in here passed on to the next life a while ago.' Omitsu quickly turned to Regan. 'Hey, do me a favor and go get one of the larger sample cases from Lexington.'

'You're taking a sample back?' asked Regan.

'Better than that – we should take a whole egg back. Without damaging it, of course. The damn thing's so fragile...' Omitsu explained.

'Great.' Regan turned and made to go back when he suddenly slipped down the same side of the embankment. As he fell, they both felt the ground shudder and heard a low vibrating hum resonate around the large area.

'Wha-' Regan managed to say as he clutched the embankment behind him to steady himself and closed his eyes.

'What's going on?' shouted Lexington. 'What the hell's going on?'

Omitsu almost fell over the egg, but forced her eyes to remain open. She saw something faintly blue emanate from the middle of the room. Like some kind of electrical mist – something she likened to the blue haze she saw in dance clubs. The mist slowly began to spread towards all corners of the area but never seemed to rise above the average height of each egg. Omitsu inhaled quickly and for a second thought her oxygen cylinder was damaged. The air had undoubtedly gotten thicker, more humid. _The mist,_ she thought. _Mist. Water vapor. That was what was keeping the eggs alive. This is a goddamn hatchery. _

'Regan!' she shouted. 'Regan, go get that container! I want a large one!'

'You can't be serious!' he yelled.

'DO IT!'

He struggled to get up amidst the shuddering which seemed to be getting more violent by the minute. She watched as he scrawled up the embankment and then turned her attention to the eggs. She blinked her eyes. Was it just her imagination or was the skin transforming from its dry texture to something more organic, more translucent? She managed to smile nervously amidst her fear, and thought: _We'll find out soon though, won't we?_

* * *

**THE _AURELIUS_**

'Copy that, we're making a turn now heading your way. Stay cool, guys. It's going to be alright. Just stay cool.' spoke Yuya into his headphone. He turned his attention momentarily to Helen and spoke with his back to her. 'What the hell is Jarreck doing?'

'I told you – he's making some weapons in case something bad should happen.' She clutched Yuya's seat in panic. 'Are they okay? What happened?'

Yuya ignored her and spoke into the headphone again. 'What's that? Yeah...give me about twenty minutes. I'm charging her up to full speed.' Then suddenly he spun his chair around and faced Helen. 'What did you say?'

Helen's eyes started to tear, how had everything suddenly managed to go so wrong? 'I told you...he's making-'

'-weapons? Oh my God. Oh _shit_.' Yuya began to unbuckle himself out of his seat as fast as possible thinking with equivalent speed. His mind fled back to the _Romulus_ incident and thought about all those people. All those people who died. They said Jarreck murdered them all, but he wasn't proved guilty. That didn't happen, did it? Jarreck was incapable of being so violent. But hadn't he told Yuya once, that sometimes he wasn't even sure of what happened himself? Yuya raced down the ladders, sliding down them like firemen do, cursing to himself. It wasn't possible, said part of himself. Then the part of him that did make the connection screamed at him like wailing claxons. Something had triggered Jarreck – what, he did not know. And now they were going to have a repeat of what happened two years ago. And they'd even have a new name for it – the _Aurelius_ incident. Yuya was determined to not let it happen. He had to think fast.

He stumbled into the room and saw Jarreck look up at him in surprise. _Shit_. He didn't want to raise any alarm bells on his counterpart's side. 'We have trouble. I've uh...' he glanced at the weapons that lay before Jarreck and continued, 'you need to get into the locker room. There's some...maintenance manuals I need.'

'What's wrong?' said Jarreck as he stood up.

'I'll explain later.' And then on seeing the other man's anxious expression, '_Please!_ There's no time,'

'Okay, okay... Which locker room?'

'The one on this level.' said Yuya stepping aside to let Jarreck walk in front of him. 'By the ladders,'

They walked towards the room and Jarreck slammed his hand on the button that opened the door. 'Listen, I need to know what's going on.' He paused in the entrance.

'I'm sorry, man.' With that, Yuya used all his strength to shove Jarreck inside the room. Jarreck stumbled but didn't fall. He paused, not so much because of the shove, but more due to shock. Before he could make it to the door, Yuya shut it and entered a six digit pin that only he and Reuban were aware of to lock the door from the outside. He stepped back as he heard Jarreck pound on the door with his fists, shouting – his voice muffled but not inaudible.

'What the heck is going on?! YUYA!!! What the heck is going on!!!'

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Okay. Here it is...from now on the chapters are going to take a darker turn. For two reasons. Firstly, all Alien stories take darker turns. Secondly, I'm so angry and upset because not only did my poor Espana get eliminated from the UEFA games but so did England (the ref made a deliberate bad call – disallowing Sol Campbell's goal, favoring the host team, Portugal), Italy, Germany and France. Hell hath no fury like a football fan scorned. Will be rooting for the Czechs to win it from here onwards.

But thanks for all your reviews. And please give me a bit more time to correct the errors I've made previously. The football matches aren't over yet and the next chapter won't be up until the tournament's over. You guys should watch too!


	10. Chapter 9

**_THE AURELIUS_**

'We need to establish contact with the company! We should never have gone on board on in the first place! We have fractured wrists, one cracked rib, one walking psychopath and as for that _thing_ – I really don't even know where to _begin_ with that!' said Barnaby as he whisked his surgical mask off his face and flung it into a corner.

The three men, Barnaby, Reuban and Lexington stood inside the large med room wearing their lab coats. Lexington held X Rays and CAT scans in his hands, seemingly oblivious to the rising tensions in the room.

Reuban held up his hands in an attempt to placate his colleague. 'We can't. You know as much as I do that if we contact the company, they're going to send a retrieval team down here faster than light.'

'SO? So what? We need _retrieval_, Reuban! This mission has been a complete failure!' He stopped momentarily, trying to catch his breath.

Reuban stepped forward in concern, placing a tentative hand on the other man's shoulder only to have it brushed away in anger. 'Just stay away from me, you got that? You're trying to get us all killed!'

Reuban bit his lip in frustration trying to suppress his rapidly mounting anger. He felt as if all his misgivings and warnings against the mission went unheeded, and now, now that things hadn't gone to plan – somehow he was to blame. If he wanted to become a bloody diplomat, he would've joined the U.N. But as it was, that role had been thrown to him like a stale piece of bread. And he ate it because it was his duty. On top of all the animosity amongst the crew, two hours ago he'd found out that Jarreck was being "contained" in a room for reasons not quite clear to him. Amidst the frenzy of dealing with the injured, Yuya had mentioned something about Jarreck taking up his old hobbies, and by that he meant the deaths aboard the _Romulus_.

Reuban shook his head repeatedly. _Simplify_. Everything's complicated, so simplify. He breathed in deeply and tried speaking calmly. His voice, however, did not seem to carry the intended emotion.

'Retrieval, Barnaby...retrieval would mean thousands of questions. Now, I'm willing to admit that disconnection from the main network was solely my decision. And Jarreck's condition? Alright, I'll take responsibility for that too. But the egg? No. Not just because it's an issue of who to point the finger at – it's bigger than that. We don't know what the hell is developing inside that thing. If they find out that we've got a live, multicellular organism on board, their first priority will be to bring it back to earth. Regardless of the consequences. I'm not willing to take that kind of risk.'

'This pathetic excuse of the bleeding martyr really breaks my heart, you know?' mocked Barnaby. 'At least I have the guts to tell like it is, instead of resorting to wimpy excuses. When the Company finds out what you've been doing behind their back, your job? _Gone_. Your prestigious position? _Gone_. Frankly, I don't care. Why? I don't care because I don't want to die here on account of someone's wrong priorities.'

'Nobody's going to die.' said Lexington suddenly, putting down the scans he held on a side table. 'No one is seriously injured. And as for the broken bones we have – I'm sorry, gentleman, but it could've been much worse than that. We just need a couple cc's of the calcium sealant to repair our fractures. As for Jarreck, the worst case scenario I can see is sedation for the trip back home. The egg itself can be frozen, while we take a sample of the amniotic fluid – or whatever's in that thing – for further analysis.'

'Yeah?' piped up Barnaby, still unconvinced. 'Tell that to Omitsu. She's not taking samples, she's speeding up its metabolic rate. She's practically sitting on that thing waiting for it to hatch.'

'SHE'S WHAT???' said Reuban suddenly.

* * *

Jarreck kicked his legs against the locker cabinet. He'd been doing the same thing for a good three hours now. That, and thinking. Oh, he had plenty of time to think alright. By now, he'd figured out that his brilliant idea to make some crude weaponry plus his past reputation had blended together to land him in this fix. He tightly shut his eyes and chastised himself – wasn't this always the case? You spend so much time convincing yourself that something isn't going to fail, when circumstances conspire against you to make the opposite happen. Murphy's Law in full swing.

Jarreck stopped kicking the cabinet, and brought his knees close up to his chest. He felt so confused at the moment. He wasn't sure whether Yuya had made a serious mistake in doing what he did. What if he were right? What if Jarreck was truly on the brink of snapping? Of doing something dangerous? He would have killed Reuban, oh God...he would have killed the little girl. He shook his head. No! He wasn't capable of that. He was as normal as the rest of them. Rationality suddenly became apparent. As of right now, he realized, there was nothing he could do except sit tight and wait. Flinging himself angrily in denial wouldn't exactly endear himself to everyone else or improve his already damaged reputation.

He stood up, stretching his legs and walked up to the comm panel inside the room. Right then, anything was better than subjecting himself to these tumultuous thoughts. Even talking with his "captors". He paused for an instant, thinking. What exactly would he say into the damned speaker? No doubt everyone at the receiving end would be all ears. Perhaps he could start with a cordial greeting, "Hello all, this is your local homicidal maniac calling, I trust everyone is feeling comfortable this evening?" Jarreck chuckled to himself, grateful for the respite of humor.

He heard a tap on the door, soft enough to be inconspicuous yet loud enough to be heard through the thick door.

'Jarreck?' came a small voice.

_Helen!_ 'Yeah?' said Jarreck, a little less enthusiastic than he intended it to be. But it was so good to hear someone speaking to him.

'You alright? I mean, you need food or anything? I can tell my uncle to get you some.'

'No...I need to know... Helen, I need to know whether everyone's subscribing to this homicidal maniac theory,' he asked with a certain degree of caution.

'Your fan club isn't real big at the moment...' said Helen with an equal amount of trepidation, 'But if it's any consolation, I don't think you had anything like that planned.'

'Does your uncle? Does he believe I was going to do it?' Right then, it wasn't just the case of having the head of the team on his side. After Reuban had walked through the fire for him two years ago, they had developed a close relationship – something almost familial. Knowing what the man truly believed, whether his instinct contradicted his logical judgment – that seemed more important to Jarreck.

'There's a lot of confusion going on right now. So much stuff's been happening, y'know?'

'But from what you see – how do you read him?'

'Um...I don't think he really took well to this whole idea of you being locked up. He isn't too pleased with Yuya about it either. But right now – we've got some injuries to deal with and Dr. Omitsu's egg and –'

'-I'm sorry, Dr. Omitsu's-what??' interrupted Jarreck, incredulous.

'They brought back this thing, an egg I think...is that bad?' asked Helen.

'I don't know.' Jarreck looked down at shoes. So much was happening! 'I don't know...'

'Listen Jarreck, I gotta go. Are you sure there's nothing you need?'

'No. I'm sure Reuban will bring me down some food later. I'll be fine.'

'I uh...think you should know that Dr. Barnaby dismantled your weapons,' Helen continued, despite hearing silence at Jarreck's end. 'But I managed to sneak away the laser thing you and I made. It's hiding under my bunk. Just thought you should know.'

Jarreck smiled to himself. 'Thanks, Helen. I mean it. Thanks for your trust. But I don't think you ought to break me out of jail just yet,' he jested.

He heard Helen let out a slight chuckle of her own. 'Don't worry... I don't even know how to use the damned thing. I gotta run – take care, okay?'

'Will do.'

* * *

Regan walked down the narrow corridor, massaging his healing wrist. Barnaby had just given him a painful injection of the calcium sealant – a deceptive name in itself because it actually consisted of an organic glue that helped seal the fracture, not solidify or seal the bone itself. He gently thumped the door lock to open with his good wrist and stepped into the large laboratory. He looked around for his companion, Omitsu, and saw her stooped over a large glass container holding the anomalous egg, hooked up to gas cylinders and instrument panels.

He approached her from behind and spoke. 'Has the interplanetary Tyrannosaurus Rex hatched as yet?'

She stood up and walked over to the instruments murmuring to herself. 'I can't duplicate the exact conditions of the hatchery. The carbon dioxide concentration is too low, humidity content seems fine...perhaps it needs something else? Water's the solvent, okay… So what's reacting in this thing?' She paused momentarily as a printout slid out of the panel. 'Amino acid structure looks somewhat abnormal...'

Regan ignored her mutterings, he was disinterested in a biological discussion at the moment. Instead he walked towards the container and peered through the glass. He squinted. 'Something's _moving_ in there...'

Omitsu turned her attention to him, still holding the printouts. 'I know!' she said with excitement. 'It wasn't even like this an hour ago!' Then she frowned. 'But the problem is, it isn't coming out. We don't know what stimulates its hatching. Frankly, we don't know what compounds make up the shell. I haven't had enough time to even analyze its plasmatic fluid.'

'Then where did those results you're holding come from?' nodded Regan towards her sheets.

'Excretive gas emission. I don't know if I'm exactly into sticking a needle into its epidermal layer.'

'You want me to do it?' he offered, looking at the egg. He'd operated on several species that would have made many physicians of his status squeamish – he didn't mind the gore.

Omitsu considered the offer. 'Maybe not. Opening its container...exposure to our atmosphere might suspend its processes. We don't want that.'

'Oh come on. Just a few seconds, right? Just enough to get a sample that could answer all your questions. Sure beats this slow run-around method you're employing.'

Omitsu relented. 'Right...okay. But wear the longer gloves. Just in case you touch it. And I'm only going to open the lid for approximately five seconds – that enough?'

'Just dandy.'

She opened a drawer and pulled out a large hypodermic needle. She pointed to the marked cylinder, 'Just up to here, alright? That'll probably be all I need. Thanks, Regan.'

'No problem.'

'I'm going to be over here, to watch the readings. Just in case sudden exposure causes any adverse effects...'

'Right.'

Omitsu turned her back to him, watching the internal atmospheric meter change as the lid of the container slid open. She held her breath as the carbon dioxide content started to fall sharply. Five seconds only, she kept telling herself. Please don't let all their efforts be wasted...

Regan spoke to reassure her, knowing that she would be worried. 'You know, all this –'

Omitsu, spun around as she heard a slight cry – like a whimper – and several thuds. She stood still in shock, as she watched Regan flail around, clasping a tube that got pulled out of one of the gas cylinders. She watched in slow motion as she saw what she thought was Regan's own hand – distorted in proportion, his fingers abnormally long – extend over his face. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn't his hand, it was something _alive_, an arachnid attack? Then as quick as it had happened, everything was still and silent, save for the steady hiss of gas that escaped readily from its cylinder. Seconds later, and with great effort, she moved a step forward. Omitsu whimpered at what she saw before her. The creature had wrapped its appendages around Regan's head in a deathly embrace. Her eyes moved slowly to the glass container. The egg – the top of the egg – had folded open. It had _opened_.

Suddenly it all made sense.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Anise!!! I'm VERY sorry for taking so long to produce this chapter. Lots of things have been going on and I've been feeling rather unproductive (in the creative sector) until recently. Just finished making some corrections that you pointed out (about the light year errors), but am not sure if I got 'em all. Do let me know if there are any more, and thanks a ton for spotting them.

Katimnai: muchos gracias por pensar en mi...and for your reviews! I shall also be working on my X Men story as well. Hasta luego, amigo mio!

P.S. Brasil won the Copa America! Forza Brasil!!!


	11. Chapter 10

'Hold still. Just hold still.'

Omitsu wedged herself in a corner of the room, rubbing her hands up and down her arms in a continuous motion. She open and shut her eyes repeatedly, drawing in gasps of breath. Yuya stood in front of her, his back to the event taking place behind him, trying to calm her ragged nerves. _As if his own weren't worn down to shreds_, he thought. _Sweet Mary, we're all slowly spiraling down into a pit of madness. And it's picking us off one, by one, by one_.

And now what would happen? Would they have to terminate Regan? It seemed so impersonal – that word: terminate. But at the same time, he welcomed such logical, detached thoughts. Yuya continued to look at Omitsu, and yet see past her into his own thoughts. The words that were coming out of his mouth – he couldn't hear them let alone comprehend them. It was all on auto-pilot for now.

Suddenly his mind lurched forward to an image of Regan's limp form lying on the examination table, with that monstrosity enveloping his entire face.

'_God!_' gasped Yuya, staggering backwards with his palm leaning against the wall to steady himself.

'Easy there,' said a voice, while a gentle arm was placed on his shoulder. Yuya turned his head a fraction and looked through worried eyes at Lexington's own. 'Why don't you take Omitsu to the lounge? Sit her down and get her a drink...' Lexington paused momentarily. The boy didn't need time out to think – that was just what was doing him harm. He needed to keep his mind occupied; something of a distraction was required. 'And then you get to work. I think it's high time we sent out an emergency distress signal. Not just to the Company – to any other bloody ship out there that is within range.'

Yuya nodded slowly.

'You think you can do that?' asked Lexington.

Yuya nodded again.

* * *

'-black mass at the center of his lungs.' muttered Lexington, holding the printed x-rays in his hands. 

'What?' said Barnaby.

'There's something...something of an anomaly in his lungs. It's...um...too early to make any assumptions, but I guess it's safe to say this isn't human tissue we're looking at.' replied Lexington.

'Then what?' asked Reuban in a quiet voice. His quietness could not be attributed to calm. In fact, Reuban felt far past the point of nervous jittering and now sunk into a silent form of panic even he was unable to comprehend. He gazed at Lexington blankly – one might even say stupidly – wondering how on earth he had managed to salvage rationale, and to take control as he was doing. Reuban wished he could do the same.

Before all this it was entirely different. Back on the ship – it seemed as if that had taken place months ago – he held anger that was marginally keeping his fear in check. And now his anger had caved in, giving way to the intensity of this fear. _And the best part was_, thought Reuban ironically, _we don't even know what we're supposed to be afraid of_.

'Okay...okay.' Lexington brushed his white hair off his forehead and placed the x-rays down on a table for the three of them to see. He pointed to the upper part of Regan's thorax and then traced his finger slowly up the bronchial tube to his trachea.

'I think – I think it's got something jammed down his throat.' he began.

'To keep him from breathing?' asked Barnaby.

'Maybe the opposite. He's breathing, isn't he?' said Lexington.

Reuban looked briefly as he could from the x-rays to Regan, and then back to the x-rays.

'So it's simultaneously suffocating him and supplying him with oxygen.' spoke Barnaby, frustrated.

'Not suffocating. He'd be dead by now. He's breathing...because it's allowing him to.' Lexington scratched his chin, in an attempt to further his thoughts. 'And then there's this.' He jabbed his index finger at the black mass enclosed in Regan's lungs. 'Could it have inserted this into his lungs?'

'How? It would have damaged the tracheal walls on entering! It's too big!' said Barnaby.

'Maybe it didn't go about it that way...maybe it's like a waste product,' postulated Lexington.

Reuban looked at the x-ray and blinked. 'I don't buy that.' The two men turned to him as he continued. 'You're saying that thing remained dormant in that egg for God knows how long, then latches onto Regan's head only to shit into his lungs?'

'Why not? Flies do it.' said Barnaby.

The subdued entomologist in Reuban woke up momentarily. 'Flies do not lay their _excrement_ in their hosts, Barnaby...they-'

'_Oh God_.' muttered Lexington.

'What?'

'_Oh God_, you're right... It's a virus. Or something _like_ a virus. Makes sense doesn't it? It was dormant – non-living characteristics were exhibited while outside the host. And now it's in. It's in Regan and it's showing living characteristics. Just like a goddamn virus.' spoke Lexington quickly, as his thoughts raced ahead of his words.

'What kind of virus?' asked Reuban.

'I don't know.'

'A contagion?'

'Possibly.'

'We have to keep him in isolation...' said Reuban.

'We have to terminate him,' spoke Barnaby. 'He's a threat to every other life on board. We have to terminate him.' he repeated.

Reuban spun towards Barnaby angrily. 'I don't have the authority to do that!'

'Of course you don't. NASA wasn't anticipating the black plague on this mission.' retorted Barnaby.

'I couldn't do it. I won't do it.'

'You don't have to. Me and Lexington can handle it.'

Lexington shook his head. 'I'm not killing anybody. We don't even know whether this virus affects humans. It's obviously trying to jump species.'

'And it's adapted remarkably well, don't you think? It's in a foreign environment. It's managed to identify Regan as a host organism. It's managed to stick its...proboscis down his throat and start utilizing his lungs as larva fodder. What else do we need to know? We've tried yanking it off his face, but that doesn't work. And you're against sawing it off in case that kills Regan in the process...what other options do we have left?' argued Barnaby.

'Freeze him. Suspended stasis.' replied Reuban.

Barnaby opened his mouth, and then hesitated. Perhaps they were right. At this juncture, they simply did not have sufficient information. His protests weren't getting anywhere and he felt less inclined to take the life of a colleague than he had first believed. 'Okay. We'll freeze him.'

'Good man.' said Lexington, as he gave Barnaby a soft pat on the back.

* * *

'I think I want to talk to mom.' said Helen as she sat on the edge of her bed, facing her uncle. 

'Yuya's establishing contact right now. Once he's sent the distress signal, we can ask NASA or the Company to send a top priority message to your mother.'

'I don't want to send _letters_ – I want to speak with her.' insisted Helen.

'Not yet...Later, I promise.' Reuban bit his lip. He hated making promises of which were uncertain.

'I don't think this is right. Nothing feels right. I should never have come.'

'None of us could've foreseen this.' _I'm sorry Helen_, thought Reuban. _I thought I was doing something – something for my family. I thought I could help you while helping my sister out at the same time. I thought summer at home was going to be a dull drudgery of divorce proceedings. I wanted you to enjoy yourself on this trip – have a little excitement. I didn't know we'd have this much excitement. Excitement? This isn't excitement. It's torture. Some form of mental torture. I'm sorry, Helen. I want you to know I'm sorry._

'I should've stayed with mom. It's where I belong,' Her face contorted for a moment as she tried not to cry. 'At home with mom.'

'I'll get you home.'

She changed the subject. 'Are you gonna let Jarreck out now? He didn't mean to do anything. And anyway, this isn't his fault.'

_Don't try to be brave for my sake, kid_. 'We're going into stasis after Yuya gets a message out and sets our course for earth.'

'So you're letting him out.'

Reuban swallowed. The others insisted that they tranquilize Jarreck before they went into stasis. So technically, yes, they were letting him out. Reuban nodded without going into any details.

Helen seemed satisfied. 'And your friend? Is he going into stasis with us?'

'We're freezing him – a form of suspended stasis different to the one you're used to.'

'What's wrong with him?'

'It's like I told you, Helen. He's got a virus. And right now we don't know how to stop it, so this is the next best step.'

'The other woman – Omitsu...Yuya told me what happened.'

'I thought I told you to stay in your room.'

'I'm not a four-year-old. You can't shut me up in here and expect me not to be worried. You can't expect me not to _think_ – not to wonder what's going on!' she said, raising her voice.

Reuban looked into her eyes. It was so painful for him to do so. 'Helen, please,' he placed a hand on her shoulder. 'I'm sorry for everything. It's all so screwed up right now...and I don't know...I don't know what to do.'

Helen looked down at her feet. 'Not your fault.' she muttered. She looked up at him finally and smiled wanly. 'Least it's better than mom's excuses – admitting that you don't know, I mean. She usually says I'm too young to understand.'

'Thanks for the compliment.'

'I bet they're far and few between, huh?'

Reuban smiled. 'You got that right. So what'd Yuya tell you anyway?'

'He said that Omitsu was in the room when it happened. That she was too squeamish to do something to the egg and asked Dr. Regan to do it for her, and that's when it attacked him.'

'How does Yuya know?' asked Reuban.

'She must've told him, I guess.' said Helen with a little shrug. 'But you know what's funny? Dr. Omitsu...she doesn't seem the squeamish type. No offence, but I thought she was harder than the lot of you.'

Reuban sat still, unanswering. Helen did have a point. Omitsu was the one who'd insisted on bringing back the egg to the _Aurelius_. It was she who had taken all the readings, hooked its container up to the gas tanks and more or less kept it alive. She was the female Dr. Frankenstein. _Oh Lord, now look who's getting carried away._ Nevertheless, the thought persistently tugged at a corner of his mind and it took a blinking comm. light on the wall to distract him from his thoughts.

'Duty calls,' he quipped to Helen as he walked over to the speaker. 'Reuban.' he said into it.

'_Reuban.__ Bad news or good news first?_' spoke Yuya's voice.

Reuban looked over at Helen apprehensively.

'It's okay,' she said, 'I'm a big girl – I can take it. It's not like we've been getting cordial greetings for the past couple hours anyways...'

Reuban turned his attention back to the comm. 'Just tell me.'

'_Good news: our course has been set for earth. We should get back in about twenty-seven days. The bad news is that I can't establish any contact with NASA or the Company. And we're not even that far out for our signals to be out of range. I've tried all nine stations._' Reuban heard Yuya pause. This was getting too much for all of them. '_Do you want me to keep trying?_'

Silence.

'_I_ _said: do you want me to keep trying?_'

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (****11/09/04******

Once again, thanks for everyone's reviews...and for your patience. Anise, as far as I'm concerned, I will definitely try to complete this story. I haven't lost interest in my characters or the plot – which is a good sign. If you do need to read the next chapters (sometimes, I write parts of a chapter on different days), you could e-mail me. This way I could enlist your help too...as an extra editor! Help would be very welcome.

That's it from me then...I shall be off.


	12. Chapter 11

'What about Jarreck? You're forgetting that he's still in there!' said Helen anxiously, as she began to enter her stasis pod.

She looked up at her uncle, analyzing his face for the tiniest fragments of emotion – anything that would give away his feelings. But it remained relentlessly bland.

'Please get in, sweetie. You let us worry about Jarreck – we need to get you in first.'

'Oh my God! You're going to kill him!'

'Don't be silly – I wouldn't allow them to do that.' Reuban immediately bit his lip and reprimanded himself for letting this slip out.

'They wanted to _kill_ him?' asked Helen incredulously.

'No...well, yeah – it wasn't a solid decision...nobody, I mean... Helen, look, can we talk about this later?' His bland expression soon crumbled, giving way to the real anxiety he was experiencing. How could he explain it to her? He wasn't even sure if Barnaby's suggestions even implied termination. But he sure as hell knew that it would've been terribly convenient for Barnaby if were Jarreck who became infected instead of Regan.

Helen swallowed, scrunched up her face and turned away.

Reuban wanted to hold the girl, even if it was for a few seconds, but his mind wanted to push her – the closest person to him at the time – as far away as possible. 'Just get in, Helen.' he said, finally – becoming exasperated. 'You know we're in a very stressful situation here – don't worsen it. In the past couple days I've had to deal with things thatone person wouldn't have to deal with in a lifetime. This isn't time to get all judgmental and moralistic on me, okay?'

Helen didn't turn to look at him; instead she continued to climb into the chamber. Reuban shut his eyes guiltily and sighed. 'Oh Jeez...kiddo, I'm sorry. I-'

'Just do what you have to do and get this over with.' said Helen in a voice that sounded remarkably like his sister's.

Reuban made as if to comfort the girl, but the changed his mind and began to set the chamber's stasis settings. He watched in silence as the girl lay back against the soft padding and deliberately shut her eyes – as if she could so easily shut out every event that had taken place in the past few days. Reuban continued to watch her still form as the lid closed with a soft click.

Moments later he felt a hand on his shoulder, but didn't turn around.

'Ready?' said Lexington's voice as he held a hypodermic needle in his left hand.

* * *

'All I'm saying is that you should probably go in first – lower his guard. He's more familiar with you than any of us,' said Barnaby, coming up behind Reuban.

Reuban ignored Barnaby and turned to Lexington on his left. He nodded towards the syringe Lexington was holding and spoke. 'I hope you got the proper dosage in there – we don't want to kill him. If this gets rough-'

'Trust me,' interrupted Barnaby, 'it's gonna get rough.'

'_If this gets rough_,' repeated Reuban, giving Barnaby a look, 'there's always a chance we might shoot him up with too much. I don't want to kill the kid.'

'We won't kill him. We're just knocking him out. Cutting his lights out for a while – he's getting the better end of the deal than we are.' said Barnaby.

'I have to agree with that.' responded Lexington. 'Don't worry, Reuban...he'll be fine. I've done this before.'

'With whom?' asked Barnaby.

'My ex-wife.'

Reuban didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't have the time to decide. They soon arrived at the room where Jarreck was locked up in and all three paused at the entrance. Barnaby gestured for Reuban to go in first. Reuban took a step forward and punched in the six digit code to open the door.

The door slid open with a slight hiss to reveal a darkened room. The fluorescent lighting overhead was living through its last hours. All that was remaining of the light cast its glow on a shelf that housed tools and such, leaving part of the room bathed in darkness.

'Fox?' said Reuban, cautiously stepping in.

A voice spoke calmly from the darkness. 'In all the years we've known each other, the only time you've called me by my first name is when I was in trouble.'

Reuban bit his lip. 'I'm not going to lie to you, Jarreck,' began Reuban.

Barnaby opened his mouth to speak. They weren't supposed to _inform_ Jarreck of what they were about to do to him! This wasn't a medical check-up! The man was a multiple murderer capable of just about anything in high stress situations. This extra bit of information could just be enough to send him off the edge. Barnaby stepped up behind Reuban to warn him when he saw Lexington shake his head slightly out of the corner of his eye. _Now wasn't the time to do so,_ was what that look implied.

'We've...reached a decision, Jarreck.' continued Reuban.

'Yeah?' replied the man calmly, so much so that it was almost eerie. 'So what's the verdict? Has the court deemed him sane?'

Reuban continued to finger the hypodermic needle. He held it up in the light for all to see. 'I guess I don't need to tell you what this means.'

A beat.

'Should've seen it coming, really.' said Jarreck, almost to himself. 'All my actions...everything pointed towards my instability. I mean that's what I am, right? Unstable?'

'I'm not judging you. I don't think any of us here are capable of judging you considering the situation we're facing. This simply seems like the most rational step to make at this point. We have...other problems.I don't know how else to put it.'

'I suppose you're not at liberty to tell the local lunatic what has been going on during the past couple hours...'

'No Jarreck, I'm not.'

'Then at least grant me the favor of treating me like a human being. I'll let you...tranquilize me as long as you don't treat me like an animal.'

With that, he emerged into the light and rolled up his sleeve. He walked towards Reuban and held his arm out. Reuban avoided looking him in the eyes and tentatively inserted the needle in. As it pierced the skin, he heard Jarreck speak softly so that only Reuban could hear him.

'I'm not crazy, Reuban.'

'I know, Jarreck. I know.' he replied as he felt the younger man's form go limp and caught him in his arms.

* * *

Reuban sat in front of the stasis pods, waiting. Occasionally he would glance at his watch, the time not really registering in his mind. The others were all in already, except for Yuya and himself. Perhaps he ought to be grateful that all of them hadcome out of the situation as well as they had. Nobody was dead. _If that's the silver lining,_ thought Reuban abandoning optimism, _then this must all be a bad dream and I must be getting a sun tan in the Bahamas_. This entire mess was layered with one problem after another. Regan's comatose state was perturbing him increasingly. If it was a case of trauma to the head or something that could have been diagnosed, then perhaps Reuban's mind could have been more at ease. Yes, it would still have been an unfortunate incident, but it that case, it would have been a _known_, unfortunate incident. Whatever was infecting the man's body was unidentifiable and therefore, untreatable until they got back to earth. And carrying around an additional "guest" did nothing to steady his ragged nerves.

He jerked his head up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Yuya rounded the corner and gave Reuban a wan smile.

'Any luck?' asked Reuban hopefully.

'None. Our communication link seems to be down. I've tried patching it up using several of the emergency codes, but I can't seem to log on to any frequency.'

Reuban's face fell. 'You did all you could.' He turned his attention towards one of the chambers that contained Jarreck's drugged form.

'So did you.' said Yuya. 'I hate to see it go down this way. But...it's happened. So let's let it be and hope we get home soon.'

'You think Regan will make it?'

Yuya hesitated, remembering thehorrific image of the creature embracing the man's face.

Reuban shook his head. 'Don't answer that. We'll find out soon enough.'

With that, the two men got into their respective cryo-tubes. Minutes later, the light in the room hummed down to a lower level as all animate life on board grew still.

* * *

He was awakened to the sound of an alarm. At first, he groggily thought of the annoying buzzer that sat on his bedside table and instinctively reached out to turn it off. But his hand hit a wall and he opened his eyes in confusion. There was no doubt that he was no longer at home, let alone in his own room. The alarm, too, was much louder now and more seemed to grow more insistent with each passing minute. He wrestled for a few seconds with his heavy eyelids and thought hard. _Aurelius_ – he was aboard the _Aurelius_. And something had gone wrong with their mission. His mind was sluggish and slow – trying to pinpoint recent events unsuccessfully. He had vague images of being in a room, the little girl – what was her name? Up. He needed to get up.

Jarreck felt around his chamber for the panel that opened the cryo-tube lid. But lying down on his back and looking up from his position, he noticed that the lid was already open. Were they home already? He felt a happy surge of hope rush through his body and tried to prop himself up onto one elbow. He fell back with a slight groan. What the hell was wrong with him?

And then slowly, like one awaking from a nasty operation, the scattered images began to fall into place. He'd been drugged. How long ago was that? He wasn't sure...but it could not have been too far off if he was still feeling the after-effects. Which would subsequently mean that they weren't home. So why has stasis been interrupted? _Think_, he forced himself. The system was always pre-set to last until the vessel had reached its given locale. It could only be stopped by a command from an outsider control – like NASA headquarters – or by an unforeseen and thereby, emergency situation within the confines of the ship itself.

Was there a fire on board?

Jarreck's pulse began to pick up, the last remaining effects of the drug gradually wearing away. He managed to call out – not as loud as he wanted; 'Hey! Reuban...?'

Silence. Then suddenly voices speaking all at once. They grew louder.

'Take him out. Let's get everyone into the main lounge-'

'No, I want everyone in the large bunker room. I don't think we should be wandering around with it loose.'

Jarreck, swallowed, trying to remain calm. He managed to sit up on his elbows and watch as Reuban walked hurriedly towards him. 'Fox...c'mon, kid – let's go.'

'Where?' asked Jarreck. 'Where're we going?' his words were slurred.

'Damn. I forgot – you're probably feeling woozy. Alright,' Reuban quickly slipped an arm around the other man's, and helped him out of the pod. Jarreck sat slumped against the cryo-tube on the cold floor.

'Think you can walk?' asked Reuban.

'Help me.' said Jarreck, when what he wanted to say was, _yes – I can walk, but I need your support_.

Reuban nodded and beckoned for Lexington to come to his aid. Between the two men, Jarreck managed to half-limp and be half-dragged to wherever it was he was going. He turned to look around him and saw something that made his stare long and hard. One of the lids of the cryo-tubes had been smashed open. From the inside, it seemed. But that wasn't what had caught his eye. The striking contrast of crimson on the lid and the subsequent streaks on the white floor caused his thoughts to come to an abrupt halt. Now he was seeing things. Now he'd lost it – gone completely over the edge.

The images gathered together to form pressure, which suddenly triggered an immense release of memories – memories that were still quite fresh in his mind. He remembered the bludgeoned bodies of his comrades aboard the _Romulus_. The simultaneously ridiculous and frightening game of cat and mouse he played, for which the prize was survival itself. This was more than a year ago. Was he having nightmares, or was he back there again?

Jarreck needed to see. He needed to make sure. He struggled with all his might to get out of Lexington's and Reuban's grip, but he was too weak to do so. He managed to let out a garbled curse.

'Easy...' said Reuban. 'One thing at a time,' his words implied that everything would settle down, but his tone rang hollow – betraying anxiety. And fear.

'Whassa – what happened?' asked Jarreck.

Reuban looked over at Lexington and didn't reply.


	13. Chapter 12

She had huddled in a corner, bringing her knees up to her chest. Her uncle had told her before that the thermostat automatically turned up to about 30C after the cryo-chambers were open, but she was not convinced. It was much colder than it had ever been. An icy feeling spread through Helen's hands, causing her to place them underneath her knees for warmth.

She was thinking of her father – who she hadn't seen in over five months – ever since her parents' divorce. Sometimes it made her sad to think that they didn't seem to have the stereotypical father-daughter relationship she would have preferred. But he was...how would she put it, an interesting man. He could be exceptionally distant at times. Like the time when she got sent off to the principal's office after she was found skipping her physics class. Her mother brought her home, fuming, lecturing...the usual recant of her Miranda rights. Her father, however, thought nothing of it – leaving such behavior to the logistics of inexplicable adolescent behavior. Mother, of course, was contrastingly angry – and after Helen's punishment had been duly issued, went straight after her marital counterpart. Yet another heated argument ensued.

"_So is that all you have to say then, Michael?__ Is "kids will be kids" your excuse for Helen's nonchalance?_" Her voice was calm, a dangerous prelude of what could follow if she became angrier. "_Perhaps the next time...when you catch her with some Jack Daniels in her hand, you can let her go and tell me she's only experimenting. Or maybe when she has some weed – then you can say it's because she needs to relax – take time out from all the stress._"

"_Celia...she's almost thirteen. Tell me, honestly, that you were perfect at that age and I'll take everything back._"

"_That's right. Make me into the bad guy. Make me evil because all I care about is my daughter's welfare and her future._"

"_You're not the bad guy..._" said Michael, sighing.

"_All I want_ –" she choked back something building up in her throat, _"...All I want is for you to give a damn about your family! And you don't!_"

Helen watched silently, from the open crack of the door – watched as her mother threw her hands up in frustration.

"_So that's what it's all about then. You want me to work extra hard – not that I'm not putting in as much time for my family as it is –_"

"_Michael, bringing in the money into this house isn't my interpretation of spending time with your family. I don't give a shit about the money. I don't!_"

"_Just like you don't give a shit about your new fitted kitchen, huh?_" retorted Michael.

"_Damn you!_" she shouted. Then calming down as if realizing something, she spoke quietly. "_Let's not beat around the bush. I'm sick of us hiding the real issue with triviality! Michael...tell me honestly. All these excuses you make up for this...this attitude of yours. Are they lies? You want to let Helen get away because you don't want to deal with her._"

"_What do you mean?_" said Helen's father, knowing exactly what his wife was getting to.

"_Are we a burden to you?_"

Silence.

Celia continued. "_I take it that that's a yes. If you don't contradict me, I'll take it that what I'm saying has been the truth all along._"

Michael looked up at his wife's eyes briefly and then turned around and walked away.

Helen leaned her head back up against the wall of the _Aurelius_. Perhaps "distant" was an understatement then. But he was interesting. Possibly not in the way that one would imagine – he didn't have a unique occupation, he didn't have unique tastes...he seemed to be far more complex than that. She recalled him sitting next to her on the couch at home one evening, talking to her in his own way. That was probably the first and the last real conversation they'd ever had.

"_I like what you've done with your hair..._" he had said suddenly, nodding towards her.

She touched it lightly and frowned. "_I've tied it back, dad. There's nothing different about it._"

"_Helen, what kind of a person are you?_" he said, out of the blue.

"_What?_" Helen had given him a befuddled, perplexed look. What was so bad about her hair?

"_No...no, I mean...your character. Do you think you're personality has already been defined for you, or do you believe that it develops once you leave the nest?_"

What a question. "_I...I guess the latter really. Or maybe a bit of both."_

"_And do you think that once you have – as some call it – "found yourself", that that personality is now set in stone, and can never be altered?_"

"_Dad, this is intense stuff._"

He had grinned at her. "_But it's not being graded. Just let me know what you think_."

"_Okay...yeah, I guess once I know who I am, and what I believe in...nothing can change me. Are you going to tell me I'm wrong now?_"

"_If I did, would that bother you?_"

"_Yeah._" She had admitted, truthfully.

He sighed. "_Your personality – on the outside – can change dramatically, usually due to a traumatic or emotional event. But once you're you – your true self is only strengthened by shocking events. I believe that's true...because I've experienced it._"

"_Where?_" Helen has asked.

"_It doesn't matter. I can't tell you the answers. If I did, you probably wouldn't take such lessons to heart. The best lessons learned are the ones that sting._"

* * *

Reuban and Lexington laid Jarreck down on a long seat. Reuban placed his fingers gently on Jarreck's neck to take his pulse. 

'I'm okay now...' said Jarreck, looking up at his friend.

Reuban nodded. 'Just give yourself some time to kick back into action. Sit still for a while.'

He stood back up and breathed out. Regan was dead. Regan was dead. The words were certainly taking their time to sink in. Under usual emergency conditions – like a computer navigation malfunction, or a damaged hull – the first thing they'd all do was to latch onto a receiving frequency and send out an S.O.S. signal. There communications line was down now. And a man was dead. Should they be grieving? Should they recover his body and hold some kind of informal farewell? He didn't feel like it. He was afraid. And he didn't want to deal with his emotions at this point in time. He wondered if the others did.

Reuban looked around the room slowly. Omitsu was standing against a portion of the wall, massaging her temples. Yuya was talking with Barnaby, although it may have appeared as if it was Barnaby doing most of the talking...Yuya had a vacant expression on his pallid face. And Lexington was walking over to Helen with a green blanket in his hands. He watched silently as the girl accepted it, and spoke to Lexington as he sat down beside her.

'He didn't mean to kill anyone, you know. He couldn't have – he doesn't have it in him.' said Helen, looking up at Lexington.

'Jarreck?' Lexington smiled sadly. 'I guess maybe you're right. Maybe what he was doing before was caused by sheer paranoia – nothing more.'

'But that's because of what he went through on the other ship...and even then, I really don't think he caused it. I don't think he's crazy.'

Lextington looked hard at the girl. 'Perhaps you're right. But it's a whole different kettle of fish now, Helen. We know for _certain_ that Jarreck couldn't have done this.'

'Then who...?'

Lexington didn't answer. Instead, he looked towards Reuban, who seemingly understood his compatriot's nonverbal message and addressed everyone in the room.

'I know that all of us are exhausted. So let me cut to the chase here...our current course to earth has been altered because emergency mode on board the _Aurelius_ automatically overrides manual settings. So our next step is to figure out what triggered all of this and-'

Barnaby cut Reuban off. 'It was that larva inside of Regan. It burst out. Reuban, I think I might understand now.' He swallowed before continuing. 'Maybe what we're looking at is a...kind of fungus. There's a species of fungus common to the Amazonian region that infects fire ants through inhalation of its spores. It somehow manipulates the neural activity of the ants, causing them to climb up to elevated reagions. When this is accomplished, the fungus bursts through the creature, releasing its spores to a larger radial area than if it simply did it's job on lower ground.'

'No, if that happened-' began Lexington.

'Wait a second, just hear me out. Whatever came out of Regan must have released it spores. Then we must assume that because all of us were in the vicinity – we're infected.' finished Barnaby.

'Not a fungus, Barnaby. Can't be.' spoke Omitsu. 'Fungi don't lay eggs. What we have here is a typical parasite.'

'Okay. Say it's a parasite – like we did before. It laid the egg. The thing inside the egg hatches and...um...inserts its DNA or whatever into the host.' Barnaby gestured with his hands, while simultaneously continuing to think. 'Then it exits the host-'

'It exits the host _violently._' muttered Yuya.

Barnaby continued. 'After leaving the host where does it go?'

'To lay more eggs.' said Helen suddenly. 'And start all over again.'

'Impossible. That's impossible.' said Reuban. 'Whatever left Regan's chest – it was small. There's no way that thing can lay an egg that big.'

'Maybe the egg grows in size.' said Barnaby.

'It would have to have an incredible amount of nourishment stored within.' said Lexington as he shook his head. 'Energetically inefficient. Evolution would select the most convenient method for it to reproduce, and if I were that creature, I wouldn't put all my eggs into one basket – pardon the pun. What I mean to say is that why deposit all this food into the egg in order for it to grow large? It could be destroyed or killed...and all its efforts would have been wasted. What I would do is to leave my host and then-' Lexington stopped short. The realization hit him suddenly like a gale in full force.

Barnaby finished his thought for him. '-grow larger.'

Everyone was silent.

* * *

Jarreck watched the conversation unfold in stunned silence. His mind, much quicker on the uptake now, was trying desperately to keep up, to fill in the gaps. Obviously, they'd brought something aboard the ship. He recalled Helen mentioning something about Omitsu taking care of an egg.

He shut his eyes trying to think. Somehow, the entity within the egg had infected Regan and eventually killed him. _Not that simple_, thought Jarreck. How could something that horrible be so simple?

He spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. 'So it's getting bigger. And it's loose on the ship. How do you know it didn't die when it was exposed to our atmosphere?'

'Because it adapted to ours remarkably well. It managed to infect Regan without any problems.' answered Omitsu.

'Someone has to go out there,' Jarreck pointed to what lay behind the closed doors, 'and kill it.'

'We gotta reboot the computer first.' said Yuya. 'We're drifting off into unknown territory. Don't want to drift too far off.'

'Is it hostile? Maybe it isn't...once it's fully developed.' said Omitsu.

'Bullshit. Anything that is born in that fashion has to be a fully fledged axe murderer once it's all grown up.' contradicted Barnaby.

Jarreck swallowed. He noticed that his breathing had begun to grow slightly faster. Not labored like it was before. But it didn't seem to be the results of his waning drowsiness. He was afraid. His old nightmare was recurring in real life. Oh God. Everyone was going to die again...he could feel it.

Jarreck clenched his fists in an attempt to remain in control. _Keep it together, man...Keep it together_. He took a deep breath and looked around him, when suddenly it struck him. This was different. This situation seemed wholly different. Everybody in the room – Omitsu included – they had banded together – as impossible and unlikely as it sounded. The arguments held before; they'd seemed to have forgotten. Everyone seemed to have one objective in mind. Survival.

'No one's obviously going to go anywhere without weapons.' said Jarreck. 'We can't afford to lose anyone.'

'But where're the weapons?' asked Barnaby, opening out his palms.

'Jarreck can make them.' Yuya said, looking at his friend.

Jarreck looked back, understanding. That was Yuya's form of an apology, for what had happened earlier.

He nodded. Apology accepted.'Okay. Depends on what we've got here though...which room are we in?'

'The bunker room. Nothing in here but dried food and some age-old magazines.' explained Reuban, looking around.

'_Canned,_ dried food?' asked Jarreck.

Reuban nodded.

'So we have can openers...blades, knives, anything?' persisted Jarreck.

'Blades – yeah...from the electric openers.' answered Reuban.

'Great. Let's get to work.'

* * *

'I feel like Neanderthal man.' quipped Yuya, gripping a lengthy wooden pole with a sharp metallic blade on one end. 'Couldn't you have come up with something a little more sophisticated? I don't feel safe going out with this...um..._spear_.' Despite the humor, Yuya gripped his weapon tightly. He noticed that nobody had laughed, or smiled. In fact, he'd felt his joke fall flat on its face himself. He couldn't help it. Sometimes, humor was an outlet. But in this instance, it didn't seem to be doing much good.

They had agreed that if anyone was to go out – it would be in pairs. That way, it would be difficult to get lost...or trapped without aid. Lexington wanted to get the ship's computer back under manual control. Reuban had opted to go find themselves more trustworthy weapons, something that they could readily defend themselves with should the need arise. So the two had reached a compromise. Lexington would go with Yuya to the control room, whilst Jarreck and Reuban would go down below the main deck to the storage lockers. The others; Helen, Omitsu and Barnaby were to remain behind. If the paired groups did not return within three hours, they were to come after them.

Jarreck watched as Reuban gave Helen a quick hug.

'Let's get going...' said Yuya, shifting from foot to foot. 'Can't say I'm entirely eager about this, but I'd rather get it over with ASAP.'

Lexington nodded and punched his hand on the button next to the doors. They slid open and the four of them stepped out.

* * *

As they walked down the long corridor, Lexington squinted ahead of him and frowned. About ten yards ahead of the pair, the hallway seemed darker, more ominous. The clinking of his feet against the metallic floor stopped, causing his counterpart to halt alongside him.

'What is it?' asked Yuya quietly.

'It's probably no big deal. The lights are out – there, ahead of us.' pointed Lexington.

'No shit.' breathed Yuya. 'The Aurelius is brand new; NASA had her mechanics check her out before we took off...'

'Machines aren't perfect.' replied Lexington as he gestured for Yuya and himself to continue walking. 'Probably nothing. Sometimes the gases from the ducts might leak, condense and then cause a short in the electrical wiring.'

They continued to walk in silence. Yuya glanced at Lexington, wondering how the man seemed to know his way around so well aboard such a large ship. Perhaps it had something to do with his knowledge of machinery, technology layouts and such. Really, thought Yuya, the man was quite the technological genius. Sometimes overly eager but-

Something caught his eye. It was up about four yards ahead, and he strained to see in the waning light.

Lexington must have apparently noticed his alarm, because he paused too, and then suddenly chuckled.

'Imagination and fear can really wreck your nerves...it's just the portable generator. We must've left it sitting out here before. Looks just like the boogey man I saw behind my dresser when I was five.'

Yuya sighed, relieved. 'Had me going there too...I thought-'

He was cut short by a sound...a combination of clinking on metal and something being dragged along its cold surface.

'Maybe it's Jarreck and Reuban,' whispered Yuya. 'Are the storage lockers nearby?'

'No. Below deck.'

The noise grew louder. It took a minute for this implication to hit home.

The two pointed their makeshift spears towards the corridor they had come down.

'Behind us?' asked Lexington.

'I don't know,'

'I don't like waiting here...' spoke Lexington quietly.

He looked over at Yuya in the semi-darkness, and saw the growing fear in his eyes. The two men acknowledged understanding and suddenly ran, leg muscles working hard, down the opposite end of the corridor.

Their retreat seemed endless. Before, stealth and silence was their secondary weapon. But now, Yuya didn't care if they woke the dead. He panted as he ran, dragging the goddamn spear across the floor. The corridor neared its end. He could almost see the doors leading to the main lounge ahead of him. _Please God, please God – let me make it. _He counted. Five meters to go. Four. Three. Two. One. He pounded hard on the opening button and flung himself into the room.

As he watched the door slam shut behind him, his breath caught in his throat. Lexington was gone.


	14. Chapter 13

And that was what bothered her the most. The waiting. The seemingly endless waiting. Every other minute she would glance at her watch, shut her eyes, lean her head back against the wall and then open her eyes again. Time to look at her watch. The three hours were almost up. And then what? The gears inside Helen's mind chugged slowly until it almost felt as if they were scraping against each other pointlessly and almost painfully. A heavy, dark cloak seemed to be pulling itself over her forehead...and finally her eyes.

'She asleep?' whispered Barnaby from a corner of the room.

Omitsu looked at their younger companion and nodded.

'Wish I could conk out – just like that...' he snapped his fingers together. He ran a hand through his hair. They felt cold – both his head and his hands. 'I am so _exhausted_.'

Omitsu said nothing, and continued to stare at him.

'What'd you think? D'you think they should be here by now?' He looked at Omitsu for an answer. It wasn't forthcoming. 'Dammit, woman...I wish you'd say something! They're not back yet!' His voice rose in tension and anger. 'Don't you feel worried?!'

Omitsu's lips parted, as if to speak, and then closed again. His question reverberated inside her mind. Worried? _Yes...yes, I suppose you could say that_, she thought. _But for who?_ Under high stress situations, she would usually chuck out all extraneous thought and push her goal into the forefront of her mind. But now she was confused. It was a rare feeling, and like most rare feelings, she was unsure as to what she should do about it.

Technically, it was her fault. She had brought the egg on board. It had infected Regan. And now? And now, she didn't have much of a clue to how exactly it would proceed to harm the rest of them. All she knew was that it would probably get them all in the end. Omitsu wished she could capture it, contain it. Then it could be studied, weaknesses and strengths evaluated and finally she would decide how it would prove useful to her, her work. _How thoughtlessly selfish_ _of you_. Another voice counterbalanced the first. _Not selfish, not really, _it said. _Your work will benefit many. Your decisions were based on priorities external to your own self-interest_. But then why...why did it make her conscience twist in agony?

She wasn't allowed to finish her ponderings. The door to the room suddenly slid open, startling them all. Jarreck stepped in first, followed by Reuban.

'We in time for dinner?' quipped Jarreck, nodding towards the starchy white table littered with cans of food.

Jarreck carried in his arms a pile of equipment – much like he did before – while Reuban held their makeshift spear in one hand and odd looking gun in the other. Despite the humor on entry, it was obvious that the two men were high strung, on edge. As if the world on the other side of the door was fraught with danger, and this room was the last sanctuary left for those alive. But both refused to actively acknowledge the fact, because of one reason.

'You're back!' cried Helen, running across the room towards her uncle.

Reuban hugged her while his thoughts immediately rewound back to the argument they'd had before. Had she forgiven him, thought Reuban? He looked into her eyes for an answer. Despite being thirteen and on the brink of tumultuous adolescence, they still held the innocence that only a child could possess. Her eyes didn't evaluate, judge, or hold suspicion like an adult's could. _Would you lose all that here_, he thought?

'Yeah...and we found ourselves something more than kindlin',' said Reuban, pointing towards Jarreck.

Jarreck set all the equipment down on the floor and sat down alongside the pile. He picked up a long, insulated wire and began to gently cut open the insulation with a small pocket knife.

'You don't lose any time in getting down to work, do you?' asked Barnaby standing above Jarreck.

'We're living on borrowed time right now. Can't afford to waste any.' replied Jarreck.

'Speaking of time,' said Reuban, from across the room, 'Don't you think the others should be back by now?'

Jarreck looked up from his work. 'Control room, right? Didn't they say they were going down there to restore the system to manual?'

Reuban nodded.

'Then we can raise the control room via the intercom.' said Jarreck, getting up.

'Given that it actually took them three full hours to get there...assuming that they're _still_ there.' muttered Barnaby.

'We can still try.' Jarreck said.

'You gotta love that God-given optimism. I suppose you've learnt that from past experiences?' said Barnaby sarcastically before sitting himself down and sighing.

Jarreck's patience was waning, but he feigned disinterest and walked over to the comm panel hoisted up on the wall. If the idiot was going to throw a temper fit – well, let him. Damned if he got dragged into a pointless fight while all this was happening.

'Control room – Mash? Yuya?' He held his breath.

Nothing.

'Yuya? It's Jarreck. Myself and Reuban – we got back fine. Everyone's fine...look, if the link's damaged or something in there, try and contact us some other way. We need to know you're alright.'

He turned it off and faced the others.

'They're dead, aren't they?' said Helen, asking the question everyone was afraid to ask.

'We don't know that.' replied Reuban, putting an arm around the girl. 'They're probably having some problems switching to manual. It can take a while to bypass the automated system – lots of codes and networks to reroute.'

'Just tell her the goddamn truth, Reuban. The control room is one floor above. It should take them less than fifteen minutes to get there...they should've been back ages ago.' growled Barnaby.

'Would you shut the hell up!?' yelled Reuban suddenly, starting towards Barnaby with his hand raised. His sudden flare in temper startled its cause as well – because Barnaby shrank back against the wall, expecting a blow from the other man's hand. Reuban stopped short, but his face continued to turn a reddish hue. 'We are trying to do what we can, David.' said Reuban, addressing Barnaby with forced restraint. 'If you think that what we're doing here is pointless, then for God's sake – _leave_. You're bloody well welcome to leave. Don't let our unperturbed optimism keep you from wallowing in your self-pity.'

Barnaby, recovering some of his dignity, rose up from his seat. 'Maybe I will. While you and Huck Finn here,' he pointed to Jarreck, 'find new ways to bait some fish, I'll just do this the old-fashioned way.' He walked towards the door with every intention of leaving the others behind when Jarreck quickly stood in his way and spoke.

'You're going outside this room – unarmed, alone, and you have no idea of what's out there. None. Now I'd like to find them as much as you do, but not without a plan.'

'And that's your plan? Your guns? Your damn weapons?! For all we know this thing is probably the size of a Chihuahua-' began Barnaby.

'Let him go.' said a voice from behind them all. It was calm...almost soothing. But there could be no ignoring the fact that that calmness was somehow attributed to detachment. Omitsu spoke, 'Let him go. If the fool thinks this is the Haunted Mansion in Euro Disney, let him think that. Sooner or later, he's going to find out for himself.'

Barnaby shook his head. '_Crazy_. You're all just stark raving paranoid. There's nothing to be afraid of out there!' he shouted.

'Barnaby, a man is _dead_.' spoke Reuban, his tone softening, yet serious. 'Your colleague is dead. He died a violent death...and for all intents and purposes we have to suspect that the thing that killed him is just as violent. I don't want any more people to die. And that includes you.'

Barnaby closed his eyes, his expression altered, and for a moment it appeared as if he was going to break down and cry. '_Oh God!_' he said.

Jarreck made as if to comfort the man, but before he could do anything, Barnaby brushed off the would-be gesture. 'No. I'm not crazy. You lot are. There's nothing out there...this is insane. I'm going to do down to the control room and set this ship on manual ride. And then I am going to talk with all of you-' he pointed to the comm link '-from there and you're going to feel like the biggest fucking fools on the planet.'

He was shaking now. Unsteady. Unpredictable.

'This is not a good idea, David.' said Reuban again.

And then, before more words could be said, Barnaby was out the door.

* * *

For a while, nobody said anything in particular. Jarreck sat back down to work, Omitsu continued her silent mulling while Reuban walked over to the table to prepare some food for them all.

Perhaps, thought Reuban, they were all having the same unspoken thought. What if their grounds for this heightened paranoia were unfounded? What if that creature – unable to adapt to their atmospheric conditions – had crawled up and died somewhere in the air shafts? _Possible._ Anything was possible at this point. That was the whole problem. One man was dead. Two were missing – now, possibly three, if they didn't hear back from Barnaby.

What the hell is standard procedure for a situation like this? Sometimes, on hectic, high-stress missions, NASA would chuck in a shrink (or the more formal term: a psych evaluator) in with the rest of the crew. Although it was never written down in print, a psych evaluator would be present to record personal analyses of each crew member. If something was wrong, if someone was obviously being affected by a situation, serious action would be taken. The official explanation for him/her being there was that weekly log-ins, data collections external to scientific research and the primary situation needed to be processed. And by an unbiased individual. Maybe they needed one here now.

_I don't need a goddamn shrink to tell me that we're all going crazy in here_, thought Reuban.

What had happened? Before, it seemed as if they had a plan, minus the usual squabbles, synchronizing thoughts together to aid their survival. And now everything, everyone...was scattered. Nobody seemed to follow anyone else's lead, and their plans had all gone to pot. Including Barnaby. Reuban was certain the man was close to some sort of breakdown. In his right mind, Barnaby probably wouldn't have gone out alone. _God, he was practically shaking with tension, fear_..._and maybe I'm next_, thought Reuban.

He opened a tin of beef stew and set in on the side of the table, breathing in. _Can't...anymore_. He just couldn't. He was too tired.

'Fox.' spoke Reuban quietly. But it was loud enough to be heard.

Jarreck looked up.

'We shouldn't have let him go. Maybe he's right...maybe he isn't. But the fact remains, he was in no condition to make that kind of decision. You saw the man.' said Reuban, massaging his temples. 'I gotta go after him.'

'No!' protested Helen, rising from her seat. 'You just got back. You can't go back out again.'

Reuban turned towards her. 'I have to. He might...hurt himself or something.' He didn't want to mention the creature. Reuban wondered whether it was for Helen's or his benefit. 'It's not right to let him go out there alone.'

'You're right...but maybe you should sit this one out. I'll go.' said Jarreck.

Reuban shook his head. 'He doesn't trust you. He thinks you're an axe murderer, remember?'

'Barnaby wouldn't trust his own mother if she came out after him. It doesn't make any difference. Let me go – you have things to take care of here.' By that, he meant Helen.

Understanding, Reuban conceded reluctantly. 'You're going out there without weapons? You can't do that.'

'Not without. I have something I can use.'

Reuban looked back at him, amazed. 'You built something in this short time?'

'No. Something I made earlier. From before. An old friend helped me build it.' Jarreck looked at Helen and winked.

* * *

Slinging the makeshift laser rifle across his shoulder, Jarreck stepped out of the room, glancing back as the doors closed behind him. He checked the power gauge on the rifle and looked back up ahead of him, satisfied. Well, if he didn't manage to find Lexington, Yuya or Barnaby, at least he could burn a huge fucking hole in one of the ship's walls – modern graffiti style. He walked a couple feet ahead of him and saw a comm panel to the right of the corridor. The plan was that he'd check in with the others every so now and then to let them know he was alright.

'Reuban, Reuban?' he spoke, into the panel.

'_Yes_.' The voice was tired, worn.

'Just calling in. I'm going to take stairway S up to the control room.'

'_Okay. Be careful._'

Jarreck smiled. Jakob Reuban. What a character. His harsh and hot-tempered attitude towards his colleagues belied a more benign persona underneath. Even now, when chaos was threatening the lot of them with its ugly head, even now he couldn't help but be concerned. And not just about Jarreck. Barnaby too. Jarreck felt guilty, remembering his apathetic feelings towards Barnaby's sudden departure. Trying to drive his thoughts away from a nagging conscience, Jarreck thought about his aunt. Reuban reminded him of her. Aunt K, they used to call her – short for Aunt Kathryn.

When he was a child, his cousins and himself would be thrown in at Aunt K's for part of their summer vacation. When their parents apparently wanted some down time, alone. She'd had strict house rules. Bedtime was 10 p.m. Breakfast was compulsory. Dinner had to be eaten as a family and TV was only reserved for those who were sick in bed with pneumonia. But she loved them – there was no doubt there. Every day, she'd personally cook up each person's favorite dish. His was sautéed fish. And she was a sucker to indulge everyone's alleged pursuit of knowledge. If you told her that punk music helped you study calculus, she's buy you the latest in that arena. If you said that a personal holographic databank helped organize your study schedule, one would arrive – neatly wrapped up – for Christmas that year. With Jarreck, it was tools. And the best bit was – he didn't need to sucker her into buying those gadgets – he honestly loved them. And they were, for all intents and purposes, meant to further his budding development as a scientist. And it did. Jarreck sighed. He hadn't seen her in fifteen years.

He missed her. _If I live through this, Aunt K, I'll stop by every weekend, _he told himself. _Just let me live through this_.

Jarreck walked down the corridor; it was poorly lit. It hadn't seemed this way before. Perhaps they'd used another route, he thought. He could see the stairway – which was, in reality a white-rung ladder about ten feet ahead of him. Checking behind him, seeing nothing and then immediately feeling a little silly, he began to climb.

He stuck his head out, hands still gripping the sides of the ladder, and then he saw it.

At first he stared, not comprehending. It was there, on the second level...skulking back in the shadows of the hallway. If not for its slight motion, Jarreck wouldn't have seen it at all. Darkness seemed to take it, be a part of it. And it was big. Was it standing? Maybe it was bigger.

His breaths increased in their frequency. Did it see him? What the hell is it? His eyes squinted and his mind began to issue panicked warnings to the rest of his body. _Run. Run_. But he continued to watch in dreaded fascination.

That was when it spotted him.

Jarreck couldn't tell for sure whether it had eyes. He couldn't see anything save for a huge black mass that stood for its head. It crawled, skulked, slid, towards him slowly. It was patient.

_Dammit! Run!_

Still, he didn't move.

In the next instant, things happened fast. He felt something grab his leg from below. He yelled in surprise and pain as he fell down the ladder onto the floor underneath him. His side stung. But that didn't matter. More! There were more of them! Mind working in conjunction with his body finally, he reached quickly with his arm for the rifle. Scared to death, he pointed it up into the face of his attacker.

It was Lexington.

'What the bloody hell are you waiting for, boy? Run!'

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Another chappie up. I never did intend to kill Lexington off...he's too tough of a character to go down without a fight. So, he reappears...alive and well.

Thanks for the reviews, folks!


	15. Chapter 14

He walked down the corridor with an air of combined confidence and anger. Fear did not occur to at that instant – in fact, he was so overcome by anger at being duped into believing they were all in danger, that the images of the ship, the eggs and Regan's mangled body had merged into a blurry cloud. A cloud that had, for now, become buried at the back of his mind.

Barnaby finally reached the control room, and opened its doors. As he stepped in, the first thing that struck him was a blast of cold air that blew dispassionately into his face. He stepped aside, and glanced up at the source of his sudden discomfort. A pipe that had previously been part of a familial array of others lining the ceiling had come loose, a portion of it torn and jagged, allowing for a steady-streamed hiss of air to escape.

From his basic knowledge of gases being used in ships such as these, Barnaby guessed that it was most likely some carbon dioxide being expelled into the atmosphere. The pipes were being directed into the main ventilation system, where carefully calculated amounts of atmospheric gases – similar to that found on earth – were released on board to ensure proper breathing conditions for the passengers. For now, it was no immediate concern of his. Eventually, if allowed continue, Barnaby believed it likely that a drop in pressure could cause some slight malfunctions in the ventilation system. He made a mental note to get it fixed after he got everything else up and running.

He walked up to the main console and sat down. He scratched his head – operators almost always had some kind of pass key to access control or flight information, and he wasn't an operator. He would have to either find Yuya or go back and demand that kind of access from Jarreck. Barnaby bit his lip and cursed silently to himself. _Shoulda thought of that before you stormed out of there_, he thought. _Too late now, unless..._

He hit the transmit button on the intercom and spoke calmly into it. 'Reuban, I'm gonna need Jarreck's pass key to get into the system.'

There was static for a few seconds, and then a clear voice spoke out. 'Barnaby?'

Barnaby sighed. 'Yes, it's me. I haven't been mauled alive by the phantom alien. I'm here...sitting in the control room, waiting for you lot to muster up some guts and come help me.'

He heard someone's garbled voice in the background and then, 'There's a problem. Jarreck went out after you about thirty minutes ago. He was supposed to check in with us at every comm. panel he reached, but we haven't-' Reuban was cut off.

'He what!' said Barnaby, frustrated. 'I don't need a goddamn babysitter, Reuban! Especially one with such a dysfunctional psychological background as Jarreck!'

A pause.

'Listen, he...uh – I haven't been contacted by him.'

'Oh _great_.' said Barnaby, burying his head in his hands.

'It's not him, David. I know what you're thinking, and he isn't like that... My point is – my point is that something else is out there, and ever since somebody's gone outside of this room, they haven't come back.'

'I'm here. And I'm fine. Actually, no...I'm not okay, now that I know that your axe-wielding friend is out here with me. Look,'

'-Barnaby, listen – you should probably stay in there. Get the door-locks turned on from the inside and stay there.' said a worried Reuban.

'Stay here and wait for the cavalry?' spoke an anxious Barnaby, and then more softly, 'No. Look, I think I'm gonna change my mind and head back to you guys.'

'I think that's a bad idea,' argued Reuban.

'Well then, it shouldn't spoil the mood.' And he turned off the comm.

* * *

Jarreck leaned his head against the wall and swallowed hard. His head, together with his heart and the blood in his veins was throbbing hard. For several minutes, he sat, slumped up against the wall, saying nothing. 

'So now we've seen it.' said Lexington, finally, breaking the silence. 'We know what it is.'

'What is it?' croaked out Jarreck.

Lexington was silent, staring out at nothing in particular. 'We were right. It grew.'

'What! The egg?'

'No...that _thing_ that came out – that came out of Regan. It's grown into..._that_.' he gestured vaguely to the corridor outside the room they were hidden inside.

'How do we kill it?'

'Guns maybe. I don't know.' replied Lexington.

'My laser?' said Jarreck, with little hope.

'It has an exoskeleton...' muttered Lexington, more to himself, as if he'd noticed that for the first time.

Jarreck didn't respond, thinking about what Lexington had said. _Insects_. Insects usually possessed hard coverings made up of an organic compound known as chitin, which offered them protection from predators. As insects matured and grew, they would shed this outer skeleton and develop a new, larger one. Everything was suddenly falling into place, creating a hollow feeling in his stomach, and dryness in his throat.

He opened his tired eyes in an effort to think clearly. 'Lexington, listen...there's gotta be some way to kill it. If it gets into that room...'

Lexington nodded as Jarreck continued. 'We'll use my laser rifle. Best shot we got right now.'

'How do you propose we hunt it down? And secondly, what if your rifle fails to deliver? What if it's immune?' spoke Lexington, leaning forward.

'Don't we have to kill it somehow?'

'Okay...we just have to calm down for a moment and think. We don't know how to harm it. We're currently assuming it's a predator, and will most likely kill us in an encounter. I say we don't use weapons here. At least not when it's just the two of us against it. We have to find our way back to the room, and let everyone else know, and then think of some way to deal with this.'

Jarreck nodded. 'So. Um...Yuya, is he...?'

'I don't know.'

* * *

Barnaby took a deep breath and stepped outside the control room, and back into the corridor. Crazy. This whole ship contained nothing but a crew that needed to be committed into an asylum for the seriously deranged. On the outside looking in, it could possibly be a situation one might find ironically funny. But he wasn't outside, was he? Barnaby felt afraid. His senses along with his fears were now heightened, every little bump and brush became amplified, resonating loudly in his brain. 

For a wild second, Barnaby thought that he should run – make a break for it as fast as he could towards the safety of the room he was previously in. _Get a grip_, he told himself, reconsidering. He started thinking of something else. His favorite food. His favorite films. But his mind refused to focus, and he grew increasingly agitated as each moment passed. The trip that previously took him a short five minutes now seemed like an eternity.

He walked into a corridor intersection, and stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted to and fro rapidly, and his mind began to recognize the unfamiliar route as being potentially worrying. He hadn't come this way before. _I know this ship, for God's sake! _He couldn't have made such a blunder... Barnaby swallowed and turned back. _Okay,_ _retrace your steps and calm down. Breathe. Breathe in slowly and think._

_The pipes,_ remembered Barnaby! The pipes above him were all color-coded, and most pipes lead to a distinct room. He looked up and squinted in the poor lighting. If he recalled correctly, the yellow-striped one should lead back to the control room. He followed it with his eyes, and walked forward slowly simultaneously.

A moment later, he stopped suddenly, noting that some of the pipes had contorted into a bulky mass now protruding from the ceiling a few yards before him. _A bigger problem than we initially imagined_, he thought to himself, puzzled. His puzzlement then changed to fascinated horror as he watched this mass move ever so slightly towards him. Its movement was so timely and slow, that it gave the appearance of almost not moving at all, keeping his eyes transfixed and his feet planted on the ground.

It was so surreal that he imagined it to be a dream. Some kind of morbid dream that he would soon awaken from. Any minute now.

That minute never came.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (05/04/05): **

Sorry for yet another delay – got caught up with the holiday festivities and work to follow. Also must apologize for this chapter being shorter than usual. Anyways, hope you all enjoy it.

There is a slight possibility that I may add more to it instead of creating a whole new chapter. We shall see.


End file.
